The Demon and the Angel
by aurellite
Summary: In an alternate universe, the sailor senshi are not exactly what we think they are. Despite that, and no matter how everything doesn't seem to go their way, whether on Earth or after, the two most unlikely enemies still find a strange, forbidden attraction to each other. But is this attraction real, or is it part of some sinister masterminded plan? HaruSei :)
1. Chapter 1

Important Note:

This is a... I guess a spin off from the original series. The facts from the series may not apply here. But it's not completely an AU, parts here and there will still be linked back to the anime. It's going to sound a little confusing at first, but I promise if you keep an open mind, it'll work out.

For the purposes of this story, this fic will also be a Seiya + Haruka fic, just simply because in this one it's virtually impossible to do it in any other way. :) My next fic was supposed to be a HaruMichi fic, but for this plot, that's never going to work. So yeah.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon doesn't belong to me :)

* * *

This story has roots in one of the oldest stories of time: the story of Angels and humans. But this story goes way beyond that, to a time before the Moon Kingdom was established.

Imagine if you can, a world of clouds, where Angels ruled over Heaven. Beautiful creatures, with 3 pairs of wings, the most exquisite of clothes that seemed to have been woven from the wind, beautiful glowing haloes on top of their head, and smiles that seemed to brighten up even the darkest night. This was the realm of the Angels.

Angels lived in a beautiful world, where peace and prosperity seemed to frolick in the clouds. But even Angels had their Kingdom, and their government. The Angels were ruled by King Phantos and Queen Stella and their court of 8. The government was established with one simple rule: to protect the planet from harm.

You see, Angels weren't allowed to interfere with human life. Their mission was simply to protect the planet, not its inhabitants. And above all, they were forbidden to change the future. That is, until one angel committed a grave sin. Her name, was Serenity.

Serenity was beautiful, even by Angel standards. Her blonde hair shone like the morning sun, bright blue eyes that shone like a brilliant sapphire. She spent most of her time looking down on Earth, watching humans go about their every day lives. And each day, her heart broke, watching flood, famine, war, crime and murder destroy the species she had grown to love.

Finally deciding that she couldn't bear it anymore, she decided to take action. But before she could do anything about it, she had been summoned by Queen Stella.

Kneeling down before her queen, she watched as the queen's emerald eyes scrutinized her. She hated the feeling, almost as though her eyes penetrated her soul and saw her secrets. Finally, the queen spoke in a soft melodious voice.

"Serenity, my court has deemed that you will, in the future, do something that will forever destroy Heaven. For that, I have no choice but to exile you. You will be sent down to Earth, and live the remainder of your life as a human. You are forbidden to tell them anything of us, and you will never be allowed back here."

Serenity hated it. She had heard stories of the Queens almighty court, that determined with their special abilities bestowed from the Queen herself, how anyone could be a future threat, and had to be "eliminated" before the time came. But, no one was to argue with the Queen. Besides, in this case, it was something she wouldn't have minded, living her life as a human.

"I understand, my Queen." was all she said. With a wave of her sceptor, the Queen removed Serenity's Angel status, and banished her to Earth.

Serenity lived on Earth for years, falling in love with a human man named Endymion. The two got married, and soon gave birth to a small child. The child was just as beautiful as Serenity had been. The moment the child was born, Serenity sensed that something had gone wrong. And she was right.

One night, while she was hugging her child to sleep, King Phantos appeared before her. With a wave of his hand, the three appeared back in the Angel Court. Queen Stella, King Phantos, and the ever-present Court of 8 stood at the very end, all of them watching her carefully.

"Serenity." The voice said. The voice was one that was tired, a Queen that had been drained of all her mental ability to control everything. Clearly, since the time she had left, many things had happened.

"Serenity." The Queen repeated, stabilizing her voice. "It has come to my attention that you have given birth to that child in your arms. What you have done, will destroy the Angel Court. Since the day you had gotten pregnant, you have thrown the Angel World into disarray. Angels started warring with each other, Angels fighting to overthrow the Kingdom, Angels that we had to banish to Earth."

Serenity looked confused.

"My Queen, if I may?" said one of her Court of 8. The Queen nodded and waved her hand around dismissively.

"My name is Mei'ou Setsuna. I am the Guardian of Time. I have been watching you for years. The child in your arms is not human, neither is it of Angel descent. She will be a completely different species. I have seen the future and so will you, in time.

In the years that you have been on Earth, the Angel Realm has been in a never-ending battle. Fallen Angels, Angels who have allowed darkness to cloud their souls, and in turn releasing their inner demon, turning their wings black, have been banished to the Realm of Darkness.

But in doing so to protect their Kingdom, the Angel Realm has been thrown into chaos in the past years. Queen Stella and King Phantos have banished countless Angels to Earth, many of whom have taken you as their example, and whom will eventually follow your footsteps."

And with that, it was decided. The King and Queen stood up silently, Queen Stella staggering for a second, before calling on their powers. The Court of 8 continued to watch stonically, a knowing, but unaccepting look on their face.

"Serenity. You have bee chosen to lead the Angel Realm into a new era. We will split Heaven into 3 realms.

The upper realm, Aviane, will belong to the Angels, Angels of 100% pure blood descent. Queen Stella and I will continue to manage the upper realm as we have always done.

The middle realm, Gremory, will belong to the fallen angels. They will be allowed to pick their own structure and their own leader. They will manage their own realm, unprotected and uncontrolled by us.

And the lowest realm, Neo, a realm that will be allowed to help humanity, will be left to the Angelics, Angels who are from Angel-human descent. You, Serenity, have been chosen to lead the Angelics." said King Phantos. As the King and Queen worked their magic, with a gigantic clap of thunder, it was done.

"You will be allowed to be with your child, and your husband as well. You will be given your Angel status back to help you. And also..." the Queen trailed off, looking for a moment at her Court of 8.

"I have instructed my Court of 8 to assist you while you build your empire. Their job is simply to protect you and your Kingdom. They will follow you down to Neo to assist you in anyway you deem fit. Use them wisely." With that, her Court of 8 walked over to face Serenity, their gowns of various colors swishing in the wind.

Serenity wanted to complain, but she knew there was nothing she could say: besides, it was not her place. Queen Stella had made things perfectly clear. This was how things were meant to be. She flexed her wings tentatively, somewhat glad to have them back. She eyed the 8 female angels around her. They all looked stonically straight ahead, none saying a word to her.

"Good luck, Neo-Queen Serenity." was the last words of Queen Stella.

* * *

"Dad, is the story true?" piped up a small kid, tucked safely into bed in the Moon Kingdom.

"Of course, you know as well as I do that it's true." His father said, a knowing smile appearing on his face.

"What do you mean?" the child looked at him curiously, eyes wide as saucers.

"Well... it's said that after many years, more and more Angelics were born, and brought up in the Angelic realm. The Angelic Realm continued to flourish under Neo-Queen Serenity's rule. With the help of the Court of 8, there was finally peace on Earth. Eventually, even the Court of 8 returned to Earth and had children of their own. But, ultimately, being children of the Court of 8, they were special."

"I don't understand."

"My son, the Court of 8, along with Neo-Queen Serenity, were given the task to protect Earth, against everything we humans could do to harm each other, and against anything that the Gremory's Fallen Angels could throw at us." He smiled as his son's eyes betrayed his sudden understanding.

"Do you mean - "

"Yes my son. Our Queen Serenity and the 8 Sailor Senshi are descendents of Neo-Queen Serenity and the Court of 8, continuing to do what they were destined to do. We, my son, are in the midst of Angelics."

* * *

Queen Serenity stood on the balcony, leaning her hands on the railing. This was her favourite spot in the entire castle, just because she felt she could see the whole world from that spot. How long had it been since she had rebuilt her Kingdom, how long since she had sat on the throne? With the power of her crystal, her world literally stopped spinning. There was no death, there was no war, and the world lived in peace.

Her 4 Guardian Senshi took care of the four corners of her Kingdom. Sailor Mercury looked after the East end, the North was protected by Sailor Mars, the South by Sailor Jupiter, and the west by Sailor Venus. All four of her guardian Senshi lived with her in her Crystal Palace, protected by the crystal. But every night, when she retreated to the balcony to look at her Kingdom, she would always quietly wonder how the others were doing.

When her Kingdom was completely restored, she worried for her people. They had seen battle after battle, destruction after war, and she didn't want them to go through it again. She knew her Moon Crystal was a delicious target to many, and she didn't want anyone to interfere with her Kingdom, not after they had spent so many years in peace. And it was because of that, that Queen Serenity had made the hardest decision in her life.

She had known, without a question, that they would have gone, whether she asked them to or not. Afterall, it was their job, and it had been their job for decades. It was their job to protect her, a job that they were deadly serious about. Though back then she didn't appreciate it, she understood now that all those times, all they were doing, was protecting her.

In order to save the world, they put the weight on their own shoulders, choosing the only path they thought was possible, leaving her and her Senshi out of it, not wanting to stain their souls and their hearts with guilt. Her four most loyal warriors, her four strongest and most deadly fighters, were somewhere out there, continuing their mission to protect her and her Kingdom.

She remembered the night they left, as though it was yesterday. The four of them, knelt at her feet.

"Uranus, you don't have to do this. None of you have to go." She had said, in a whisper so soft that she was sure they wouldn't be able to hear her. Sailor Uranus looked up, her teal eyes meeting Queen Serenity's sapphire blue eyes. She gave the Queen a knowing smile.

"My Queen, we will always be by your side. But this is something that we have to do. We were never meant to stay by your side: thats what your guardians are here for. Don't worry, if anything happens, don't hesitate to call on us." Uranus had said, a knowing soft smile dancing on their lips, before the four of them stood up, bowed one last time, and disappeared into the night.

"Many years ago, before we first met, my mother told me a story of Queen Serenity, of how they protected the world and the Angel Realm. Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Pluto. You are my Angels. You've selflessly protected the Moon Kingdom and my family, just like the story."

She looked out into the darkness of the night, beyond the illumination of her Kingdom.

"I can't wait to see you guys." She whispered, looking forward to the end of the week, where all her warriors were to return to the Moon Kingdom for a once-in-a-decade celebration. It was her 210th birthday. _I miss the times when my birthday was counted by years, instead of decades_. She thought to herself bitterly as she headed back to her quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

Haruka sat in front of a screen of computers, her heavy boots comfortably perched on the table in front of her, hands behind her head as she leant back, teal eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

She was bored, and if there was one thing that the blonde hated more than being away from her aquamarine mermaid, it was being bored. Boredom did not suit the wild blonde, who would considered any moment not doing anything a moment wasted. But she would not complain: this was her job. For centuries, she had, with Neptune and Pluto by her side, led the protection of the Solar System.

In their long history, they had failed only once: and that one failure had cost them all their lives. She had never been able to accept that she had failed, that she had endangered her comrades and nearly destroying the one place that she had been sworn to protect. Neo-Queen Serenity had granted them a second chance, reincarnating them on Earth, where she had stayed for 24 years of her life.

At 16, she had been awoken, and along with the return of her Uranian abilities, came her memories. She remembered everything: how they had failed to destroy the aliens before they had snuck their way past her radar. She blamed herself: she had failed, there was no excuse. And for the rest of her years, she was stuck on Earth, living her life as a not-so-normal human. And though she hated to admit it, her life on Earth gave her a unique feeling that she never experienced all those years on Uranus: comradry, friendship, and most of all, hope.

In her past, she remembered, her steadfast faith in her King and Queen was just that, blind faith. She, amongst all the rest, believed in them more than anyone else had, even though she refused to admit it. King Endymion and Neo-Queen Serenity was her reason for fighting, a reason that she had never lost sight of no matter how many years would pass.

But fighting alongside her King and Queen, or rather against her King and Queen, her faith strengthened. There was a purity in them she never expected, a willingness to believe in the best of people, to have a hope and trust in everyone that was impossible to understand. Even when faced with the end of the world, her Queen chose to believe in the best of her enemy.

Stupidity.

That was what she thought at first. Blinded by her mission to protect the Earth, she had neglected to understand this in her Queen: the eternal love of her Queen, her never wavering ability to open her heart to anyone, could create miracles that no one else would have believed possible. And since then, she swore to not only protect Crystal Tokyo, but to keep a close eye on her Queen. _Her heart will always be pure and innocent. She will never understand how we Outers think. But the very least we can do, is make sure that she's safe._

By the time she 24, Neo-Queen Serenity had created Crystal Tokyo, immortalizing everyone. Not that it mattered to her: Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune would forever be reincarnated from thin air, to continue their neverending mission to protect Crystal Tokyo. Immortality only made things a little easier: there would be no need to reawaken, no need to regain memories. _No need to spend wasted years fighting with my destiny._ She added silently to herself, knowing herself fully well enough to know that each time she was reincarnated, she would spend years fighting against her Uranian blood, till the day she finally gave in.

Haruka finally snapped out from her thoughts, deciding that a break would do her well. Stepping out into the balcony, she smiled as a gale of strong wind met her. If there was one thing she loved about her home planet more than Earth, it was the wind. Earthern wind was never quiet strong enough for her, unlike the Uranian wind which blew cold and strong through her loosely buttoned shirt and jeans.

From her Miranda Castle, she could see everything. Where her castle was a lonely and empty living space, that felt more like a sanctuary of a security guard as the days went past, her empire was completely different. Bathed in lights of gold and navy, her citizens busying themselves with their everyday lives. She, however strange it may sound, had never wished she was one of those citizens. Normalcy did not suit Haruka, nor did it satisfy her. She loved being a Princess: well, not all of it. She could do away with the gowns and the formal, stuffy events, but she loved fighting, protecting, and most importantly, she respected her power, and the King and Queen she spent an eternity protecting.

Suddenly, a voice so familiar cracked through her communication systems, once again breaking her out of her thoughts. "Ruka, are you there?" She literally ran back to her computer.

"I'm here." She said with a smile as she repositioned herself, her feet once again resting on the side of the table. "What's up?"

The screen closest to her buzzed to life, a young woman with aquamarine waves. Sailor Neptune was staring back at her. The screen did not do the Neptunian Princess justice. Haruka smiled knowingly as the Neptunian Princess stared at her for a second, a scowl clearly threatening to appear on the mermaid's face.

"You know, for the sake of appearances, you should really stop dressing like a civilian. It's not like you have an identity to hide anymore." replied the melodious voice teasingly. Haruka laughed as she scratched her head.

"It's not that." Haruka shook her head. Michiru knew her well enough. The Uranian Princess did not like staying in her Senshi form for any longer than it was necessary, neither did she like the beautiful princess dresses that came with the job. It was no wonder that while the tomboy was on Earth she adopted a liking for male clothing: it was the one place she could dress and act however she pleased, a privelege that she was not allowed to as a Uranian Princess.

"How's everything going on your end?" Neptune finally asked, deciding to change the topic. The blonde wasn't going to give in either way, and there was no point in arguing with the stubborn leader of the Outer Senshi.

"The same as usual. Being bored to hell." Haruka replied with a laugh. A red alarm rang out, alerting both princesses. Haruka glanced at the screens momentarily, before turning back to the one with Michiru's face, now tense.

"Looks like someone heard you." Neptune laughed. "Meet you there?"

Haruka nodded, and pressed another button.

"Ura! I'm leaving the castle to you!" She called out to her sprite, her miniature clone, Guardian Uranus appeared.

"Okay!" the Guardian chirped, as Haruka transformed back into Sailor Uranus. White gloves wove themselves around her hands as navy blue heeled boots wrapped her nimble feet. All the energy of her guardian planet rose to meet her, enveloping her body, carrassing it as though it were a hug from a long lost friend. When the blinding light vanished, Sailor Uranus stood, flexing her fingers and wrists.

All of this was part and parcel of her life, and she had long since accepted it. But while she didn't particularly like the fuku, she loved the power that came along with it. Sure, as Haruka she had always exuded a certain power that radiated off the people around her, and as Princess Uranus even more so. But as Sailor Uranus, she felt a power even she could not explain: how her body seemed to absorb every vibe of her planet, how the strength of the strongest winds and the swiftest clouds, seemed to flow through her gloved hands.

She smiled smugly, unaware of her Guardian watching her closely.

"Go kick some ass!" The Guardian chirped happily.

"You know it, Ura." Sailor Uranus winked and laughed as she leapt out of the open balcony.

The small guardian shook her head, trying to suppress a laugh. The tall blonde would never admit it, but she enjoyed the lifestyle she had now.

* * *

Sailor Uranus was floating through space, keeping an eye out for the disturbance she knew was coming. From a distance, she saw an aquamarine blur, and smiled to herself.

"World Shaking!" she yelled, calling upon a ball of gold light that shot through the night, blinding her enemies.

"Uranus! You're late!" yelled Neptune. Uranus laughed, approaching her partner. "This is why I said, for convenience sakes, you shouldn't even bother de-transforming." Neptune complained, watching as the blonde senshi approached her. Uranus laughed heartily as the two stood, back to back, her sword raised by her side.

"Shall we?" she asked, glancing around them. There were approximately 200 of them, strange, dark, winged creatures, that flew at a speed comparable to the unmatched Wind Senshi. Her eyes narrowed as she watched them carefully.

"Let's go, Uranus." Neptune's voice never losing its elegance, the two shot forward, ready to attack. Uranus slashed her way through with incredible speed. They weren't particularly strong, but they were fast. However, when it came to speed, no one dared to challenge the Wind Senshi, and for good reason. While she was fighting, she kept a close eye on Neptune, who seemed to have no problem dealing with the speed. _She's been running next to me all these years, afterall._

Half an hour later, Uranus and Neptune stopped to rest on one of the floating clusters between their planets.

"It's been awhile since we had to fight off so many." Neptune panted, somewhat tired from the earlier battle.

"Yeah, but they never seem to learn." replied Uranus, lying down on the granite to look up at the skies. "How long have we been doing this?" she said, ignoring the stray strands of blonde hair that waved around her face.

"Longer than I can recall. Let's see, Serenity is 210 now. So... she was 22 when she re-constructed Silver Millenium. So by that theory, that makes... 188 years? Way too long." Neptune said, lying down by her fellow Senshi.

"Not to mention all the years we've done this before rebirth." Uranus laughed. But neither of them would complain: this was a job they were born for, afterall. Silence fell upon the both of them, and Uranus knew immediately that Neptune was worried about something.

"I've been watching the mirror closely..." Neptune started, her eyes tracing her planet's orbit slowly. Uranus sat up, staring at the beautiful princess next to her, but waited for the aquamarine princess to continue. "Something's about to happen. I can feel the seas roaring in protest."

"I know." Uranus said in response, following the younger Neptunian's gaze. "I feel it too, the wind has been unstable and uneasy in the past few weeks. I doubt it's anything worrisome, Setsuna hasn't said anything about it." she added, feeling the Neptunian's eyes shift to her, all the more refusing to tear her eyes away from the darkness around them.

The two sat in a comfortable silence for awhile longer: they never had to share much words with each other. There was a bond that no one could understand, strong enough for the two of them to remain as steadfast as they ever were, despite being planets away. And while they often met in such battles, they enjoyed spending some time after, sitting on a random speck of space rock, just enjoying each other's company.

"So..." Neptune finally spoke again, and Uranus could hear just a smirk of a teasing voice hidden behind the falsely serious tone the Neptunian Princess took. "What are you wearing for the grand ball on the 30th?"

Surprised teal eyes met teasing blue ones as Uranus stared at her partner. "Don't tell me you were planning on showing up in a suit." The melodious voice continued in a soft mocking voice. Uranus frowned, but chose not to reply. Neptune laughed: just as she had expected.

"It's been too long..." the blonde finally agreed with her partner's previous words. Neptune looked over to her partner in surprise. It was true: it had been too long since all 10 of them had met. Of course, the Outer Senshi had watched closely from the distance of their home planet, watching as the Moon Kingdom blossomed under the capable hands of the 4 Inner Senshi, King Endymion and Queen Serenity. But that was the extent of their communications.

* * *

Queen Serenity paced back and forth in her bedroom excitedly. She had always enjoyed celebrating her birthday, but after the years had flown by, even age had begun to seem irrelevant. But this year, her birthday was special. For the first time in 188 years, her 4 Outer Guardians were returning to the Moon Kingdom. They had been against it at first: Uranus especially much so.

"Our job is to protect you and your Kingdom. We cannot leave our posts." Had been the stonic reply each time she had invited them over for a celebration. Not that she was expecting anything different. Despite the stonic and annoyingly standard answer the Uranian Princess gave on behalf of her team, the Queen knew better. Out of all her Senshis, Princess Uranus was probably the one that believed in her the most.

Yes, her Inner Senshi believed in her to an extent that was unbelievable. The Inner Senshi believed in her dream and her purity, and that together they could do anything they set their minds to.

But the Outer Senshi had a different level of trust for the Moon Princess, Princess Uranus even more so. They believed in her so much, that they willingly exiled themselves to a lifetime of loneliness, away from the Moon Princess that they loved. And all these years, they continued to believe in her steadily, believing that without them, she would continue to flourish, that she was strong enough alone.

And amongst all, Princess Uranus, who had been the most hostile towards her during their time on Earth, who never felt a need to inform her of the impending threats that they were facing, choosing rather to let her live her life in peace and obliviousness, had single-handedly left the comfort of friends, sending herself and her team out into the darkness, against any foreign enemies, just so she could live in peace in her Kingdom.

But this time, despite all of Uranus' attempts, even she could not deny Queen Serenity this one wish. Not only was this her 210th birthday, this year it fell on the a day of an eclipse. An eclipse was seen as a good sign, where the Sun, Earth and Moon aligned, symbolising the alignment of King Endymion, Queen Serenity, and a higher power.

"Very well." The Uranian Princess had grudgingly agreed, finally giving in to her Queen, ruffling her blonde hair with a troubled expression on her face. "Getting Pluto to leave the Time Gates will require some convincing." She added. The Queen had smiled serenely as a reply.

Queen Serenity quickly got dressed, an off-shoulder white gown with beautiful intricate gold circular trimmings across her chest. She brushed her hair, for a moment her eye lingering on the crescent moon on her forehead. Smiling at the memories that came along with it, she walked out of her room and headed to the grand hall.

The scene at the Grand Hall that greeted her stunned her. On one end stood her 4 Guardian Senshi, and on the other, her King and their daughter. She couldn't help but to smile: it had been awhile since she had seen her warriors in such beautiful gowns, for they spent most of their time in their Sailor fukus.

The Merculean Princess, Mizuno Ami, was wearing a modest strapped light blue gown that flowed like the gentle lakes and rivers on Earth, carefully carrassing her petite body, matching her short hair perfectly.

The fiery Martian Princess, Hino Rei, with long bellowing black hair, chose a strapped fiery red dress that hugged her curves, before flaring out at the knees. She looked simply magnificent, fierce, but yet sexy and sophisticated.

Beside her, was the tall Princess Jupiter, Kino Makoto. A strapped dress hung on her shoulders, dark green as the forests of Earth. The beautiful silk dress hug closely along her slim waist, before slitting open dramatically at the thigh, with a white underlayer sensually flowing along the edges.

Of course, Aino Minako, affectionally known as the Princess of Love, with her bright blonde hair trailing behind her like a wave of gold, chose an equally bright golden dress, that layered beautifully to her feet.

She turned her gaze to her husband, King Endymion, who looked as handsome as the first day she had met him, wearing a handsome black suit. She would never admit it, but she had always loved him in suits. And next to him was her beautiful daughter, dressed in a gorgeous pink dress that suited her cute personality.

All of them turned to her and smiled.

"Usagi! You look great!" The girls crooned as she gave them a hug.

"Thanks! You all look great too!" She exclaimed, and for a moment it almost seemed as though they were back in the past, back when they were still teenagers, joking about popstars, chasing handsome boys and laughing at each other's stupidities.

With a great resounding bell that seemed to echo through the hallways, guests started pouring in. Usagi had invited all her friends into her castle for the party, and everyone knew how friendly Usagi could be: almost the entire Moon Kingdom would show up for her party.

As she shook her hands with her guests and mingled around in the crowd, she found herself constantly staring at the clock. _They're late. _

The moment the thought occured to her, the grand doors opened, and the smell of roses reached her nose. Without even turning around, she knew that her special guests had finally arrived. Unable to control her happiness, she spun around. And there they were.

Standing by the front door, was the 4 people she was most eager to see.

The petite Tomoe Hotaru, Princess of Saturn, dazzling in a simple strapped gown of dark purple and white, full length gloves covering her slim hands. She looked nervous: her glaive held loosely at her side.

Beside her, with mysterious knowing eyes that gave nothing away, a sheet of long black hair flowing off her shoulders and unto her back, in a double-strapped dress of pure black and a train of white covering her tall figure, with full length black gloves covering arms gently holding her staff, was the Senshi of the Afterlife, Princess of Pluto, Guardian of the Time Gates, Mei'ou Setsuna. Her deep magenta eyes gazed at the scene around her, a gently smile on her lips.

But when it came to elegance, no one could outdo the elegant Neptunian Princess. Looking completely perfect in a hugging v-neck silk dress that exuded grace and elegance, in a beautiful teal color that matched her hair, Kai'ou Michiru stood elegantly, a hand on her hips.

Standing in the middle of the 4, in a simple deep navy blue strapped gown that exposed her shoulders and arms, carrassing her as though the gown was made of the wind itself, with her hands on her hips, teal eyes surveying the scene around her, stood the Almighty Sailor Uranus, short blonde hair windswept and messy as it had been years ago.

"Haruka! Michiru! Setsuna! Hotaru!" Usagi practically screamed across the room. A look of mild surprise came from the four. It had been so long since anyone called them by their names: it felt foreign to hear their names screamed across the room from a voice that did not belong to one of them.

Everyone turned around to stare at the 4 that had entered the Grand Hall. Those 4 names were well-known by anyone who attended the party. Those were the names of the mysterious 4 heroes that completed the Queen's entourage. They were the 4 that were never seen, rarely spoken about, but always out there.

"Queen Serenity." The four greeted with a nod of their heads. In a second, the 4 were pummelled by hugs from the other Princesses.

"It's been so long!" Minako exclaimed. Haruka laughed. 188 years may have almost passed, but the Inners hadn't changed much.

"It's nice to see all of you too." Michiru smiled serenely.

"HOTARU-CHAN!" came a yell that caused the youngest of the Outers to spin around.

"ChibiUsa!" the two young girls hugged. Michiru laughed.

"Hotaru-chan, come with me! I have a lot to show you!" The two young girls excused themselves and left, leaving the adults to catch up.

As the rest of the Senshi sat at a corner catching up the Outers on the ongoings of the Moon Kingdom since they departed almost 200 years ago, Haruka couldn't help but to zone out. She was never one to be interested in gossip or these kinds of catchup sessions, but being around her Queen comforted her and allowed her to, for a day, see everything that her Princess had accomplished all these years.

From the corner of her eyes, Queen Serenity watched as the tall blonde looked around absent-mindedly, not really focusing on the conversation at hand.

"Haruka, can we talk to you in private?" Queen Serenity spoke, as King Endymion, Queen Serenity and Haruka stepped out for a moment, ignoring the rest of the curious glances that followed them.

* * *

Once outside, the three sat down in the middle of a rose-filled garden.

"We heard about the new enemy, the black winged demons from days ago." Mamoru started. Haruka blinked in response, a frown appearing on her face. She had not reported the last battle to them yet, how could they have possibly known?

"Setsuna informed us." Usagi explained with a smile.

"Their numbers worry us. If they can allow 200 or so of their men to be destroyed like that, how many more men do they have." Usagi admitted. Haruka stared from her Queen to her King, not really sure what to say.

"We don't know much either, but if Setsuna isn't worried, I don't see any cause for alarm." Haruka replied carefully.

"Agreed. But we're going to keep an eye on this situation. We have decided not to inform the Inners thus far, and we're hoping this would just be an isolated incident, but just in case, please keep us updated if there's another threat from them." Mamoru said.

"Of course." Haruka nodded seriously, pausing for a moment to consider whether she wanted to tell them about the premonition that both she and Michiru had, but decided against it. Thus far, this was an isolated incident. And clearly it wasn't something she couldn't handle.

A servant appeared from the corner of the garden, gesturing Queen Serenity towards her. "I'll be right back." Usagi said. Haruka watched as Usagi got up, leaving her momentarily with King Endymion. Haruka continued sitting in silence. Even back on Earth many years ago, the two had barely spoken.

"She misses you all." Mamoru said simply. Haruka nodded her head slowly.

"We miss her too. We miss all of this. But you have to understand, we can't stay. As much as we want to, we can't. This was not meant to be our future. We weren't meant to fight together, we weren't meant to be a team, not this way."

"I understand, but you know how she is. Just promise her you'll come back to visit more often, I'm sure it'll be the best gift anyone can ever give her."

"King Endymion, you know I'll do anything for her. I'd die if she asked me to. But this is one thing I cannot promise her. Her safety and your Kingdom's safety is on our shoulders. We failed once, and we have no intention of failing again."

"At least stay the night, just tonight. For her." Mamoru pressed. Haruka sighed, a frown appearing on her face as she considered it.

"Okay." was her final answer. Mamoru smiled warmly, just as Usagi returned. Mamoru told her the happy news, and Usagi's face broke out into a wide smile as she hugged the blonde, tears threatening to flow down her large sapphire eyes. Haruka hugged the petite blonde back, not missing the happy glint in Mamoru's eyes.

_It's only one night._ Haruka tried to convince herself. She had no idea how wrong she was going to be.

* * *

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes, Father. Everything is ready." said a dark winged figure, kneeling at the foot of a black throne.

"Good. Prepare the troops. It's time. Tonight, we strike."

"Yes, Father." The figure bowed and disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Okay! Chapter 2 is done! I know its quite confusing how I rotate from Princess, to Senshi, to their actual names. It's quite hard to decide on my end what to use as well, but I've decided to base it on the scenario. They're still the same people.

To clear things up, this probably takes place many years after Crystal Tokyo, after the final battle between Galaxia. I've taken bits and pieces from the manga as well.

1. Following the manga, the Inners live in Crystal Tokyo with Queen Serenity and King Endymion. Haruka and Michiru live in Miranda Castle and Triton Castle (Miranda and Triton are moons of Uranus and Neptune), governing their own planet from there. (I initially wanted them to be living alone, but that sounded too lonely).

2. Guardian Uranus (Ura) is a sprite that takes the physical appearance of a Chibi Sailor Uranus, guarding her planet and her castle while she was gone, at least that's my understanding from my research. Each Senshi has their own Guardian, but Guardian Uranus is the only Guardian to appear in this fic thus far.

3. Setsuna lives in the Time Gates, watching over her planet and everything else from there.

4. I'm not sure about Hotaru's living arrangements as yet. Will figure that out if necessary.

I KNOW! THE BIGGEST QUESTION! **WHEN IS SEIYA COMING IN?** Haha to be honest this story requires quite alot of building up, so I'm thinking Seiya will only appear in the next chapter or the one after, depending on how many incidences I can fit into 1 chapter. We'll see.

Comment and let me know how this fic is turning out so far, kay? :)


	3. Chapter 3

When Princess Uranus, along with King Endymion and Queen Serenity returned back to the party, the Queen had a smile on her face that reminded everyone of the cheerful bubbly 16 year old she had once been. Granted, that was almost 200years ago, but Queen Serenity had never once lost the youthful traits she had always had.

"What's with the smile, Usagi?" teased Rei, her arms crossed around her dress. She knew the Princess had a secret she was dying to share.

Michiru eyed the blonde, who was standing a few steps behind her King and Queen respectfully, adamantly looking at a random spot in the ceiling, pointedly avoiding her gaze as Usagi exclaimed, "They agreed to stay the night!"

The Inners screamed in a pitch so high that threatened to shatter glass as Michiru continued staring at the blonde, who sheepishly scratched her head. Michiru smiled to herself: only Queen Serenity could possibly ever change the tall blonde's mind once it had been made up, and clearly the Queen had finally found a way to convince the blonde to stay.

The blonde plopped herself next to the Neptunian Princess, who continued to stare at her.

"Don't look at me like that, Michiru. I know what you're thinking. But if you were there, you couldn't have said no either." She whispered so only the Neptunian goddess could hear. Michiru laughed musically, but chose not to reply the blonde. Afterall, the blonde knew what she was doing, and as much as Michiru refused to admit, she was also missing being around the Inner Senshi.

Haruka continued eating her salad, more to occpy her mind than anything else. She had known Michiru wasn't going to say much about her decision, and Hotaru would be more than happy to spend time with her best friend. But it was Setsuna's gaze she was keen to avoid. The charcoal-haired beauty was staring at her with those annoyingly know-it-all penetrating magenta eyes, a sad smile on her ebony features. Was it just her imagination, or did Setsuna's eyes betray some form of divine understanding that she was not allowed to divulge?

Haruka continued picking through her salad, an ear listening out carefully to the many conversations going on around her. Michiru and Ami were talking about new findings and discoveries on the Moon Kingdom (with a very confused Makoto and Rei in between them). King Endymion and Setsuna were discussing her job in the Time Gates, Setsuna giving her usual knowing smile. Minako and Usagi were going on animatedly about the first time they had met her, back at the old Crowne Arcade. She nodded occasionally, laughing at the memory in her mind. Life was so much simpler back then, and to an extent she enjoyed it. Not that she hated her job: she loved it, it made her feel important and it gave her a sense of pride knowing she was doing something no one else could do.

Suddenly, the soothing dinner music stopped, and the music sped up, accompanied by the lively beat of the drums. In an instant, Usagi's eyes lit up. Haruka couldn't help but to chuckle: even after so many years away from Earth, that one song still made her smile. It reminded her of life as a Senshi on Earth.

Haruka watched as Mamoru took Usagi to the dance floor, followed closely by the rest of the Inners, each with a male counterpart. She wasn't surprised: afterall, they lived here on this planet, surely they must have had countless suitors.

_Kami ga sora ni moeagaru_  
_Karada ga honou no you yo_  
_Yada wa nande kou naru no_  
_HONTO ni mou okocchau kara_

Watching Usagi and Mamoru dance, reminded her of the time she had sent Usagi to the Tokyo Tower knowingly to meet Kaolinite, knowing fully well she was about to send this girl to die.

_Koi wo shite setsunai mama  
Amai yume wo mitetai no ni  
Yurusenai AITSU-ra no sei yo  
_  
Many a times when this memory came back to her, she wondered how her Queen found her heart to forgive her unconditionally, but now she knew: her Queen was incapable of hate, unable to see anything but the best in everyone, even in her enemies.__

Yappari watashi yarukkyanai ne  
Tataki-tsubushite yaru wa kono te de aku wo  
Sou yo sore made ganbaranakuccha  
Mezame-nasai aoi senshi yo

"Michi, let's go join them." She said, pulling the aquamarine princess up from the dance floor. Michiru smiled as the blonde led her expertly around the room. The two twirled around the room, teal and royal blue silk entwining themselves like two old friends hugging each other, as Haruka spun the shorter princess around. __

Donna warui hito datte  
Suki nara shinjite miru no  
Sore wo riyou suru nante  
Sonna no yaccha-ikenai no yo

In that moment, the entire world seemed to dissolve, and only Michiru stood in front of her. Despite how long it had been since they last waltzed together, nothing seemed to have changed. They were still completely in sync, as they always had been in battle and in life.

_Itsudatte mamoritai no_  
_Anata no tame tonde yuku wa_  
_Ai dake ga kagirinai ENAJII-_

"Penny for your thoughts?" Michiru asked as Haruka snapped out of her thoughts. Haruka smiled, knowing she could not lie to her previous life partner.

"Was just thinking about us. How we used to be." She admitted with a small smile. The aquamarine maiden smiled back at her, a sad look on her face. Haruka frowned, confused. Was it pity? It was, after all, the mermaid's idea.

_Nee watashi-tachi yarukkyanai ne_  
_Onna no ko no junjou misete yaru no yo_  
_Nani ga nandemo ganbaranakucha_  
_Mune ni chikau ai no senshi yo_

"Hey, don't worry. I'm over it. 100 years is more than enough for anyone to get over it." She said, trying to tease Michiru. Michiru smiled elegantly, a smile that she had dearly missed.

In the 100 years that they had gone by, Haruka and Michiru had separated ways, simply because it had been the right thing to do. Their job took prescendent over everything, and they both agreed that while they stayed together, they were a danger to each other. So together, they had chosen to sacrifice their relationship.

"I'm not worried. I know you well enough." Michiru whispered back playfully. She had been worried about the blonde at first, knowing fully well the blonde's temprement. But Michiru knew, if there was one thing Haruka loved more than anything, it was her mission: something no one could deviate her mind from.__

Nee watashi-tachi yarukkyanai ne  
Tatakitsubushite yaru wa kono te de aku wo  
Sou yo sore made ganbaranakuccha  
Mezame-nasai ai no senshi yo

Applause broke out, and they took a polite bow as the party concluded. Queen Serenity and King Endymion stayed behind to thank the rest for attending, leaving the 4 Outer Senshi in the hands of her 4 Guardians.

* * *

Makoto led Haruka to a guest room on the East Wing. When she opened the door, Makoto smiled as Haruka's jaw dropped. The room was gorgeous, with full-length windows that seemed to open up to the skies. Haruka looked at the full moon, shining brightly from her window, accompanied tonight by all the stars of the night. Royal blue curtains flowed over the windows, champagne gold drapes hanging over a comfortable white bed.

"This was supposed to be your suite, if you... you know..." Makoto trailed off awkwardly. Haruka nodded. She knew what the tall brunette was going to say.

"Usagi had everything cleaned in case you agreed to stay the night." Makoto smiled kindly. Haruka couldn't help but to smile back.

"There's some change in the closets in case you, you know, prefer a change of clothing." Makoto laughed as Haruka opened the cupboard, and a genuine smile erupted from her face. As Haruka pulled out a pair of pants and a button-down shirt and headed to the bathroom, leaving the door open as Makoto sat on her bed, waiting for the taller blonde to finish changing.

"You know... I've always admired you." said the brunette in a soft voice.

"What for?" Haruka asked, sticking her head out of the door frame as she continued to change.

"For everything. For trying to take the weight off our shoulders, for taking the responsibility so we wouldn't have to. If I were in your shoes I don't know what I would have done."

"Whatever you would have done, you wouldn't have nearly gotten your partner killed thrice." Haruka replied neutrally. Makoto laughed nervously.

Haruka finished changing, and turned to the mirror. Washing her hands and running them through her wild hair, she stepped out of the toilet. Makoto couldn't help but to smile.

"What's the agenda for the night?" Haruka asked as she stuffed her hands into her pockets. Makoto smiled, and led them out of her room to the observatory, where the rest were already waiting.

* * *

It was pitch black, the land only illuminated by the light of the moon. A lone figure stood in front of the rest, his wings flared at attention, pacing back and forth, watching each of them carefully. A thousand or so winged figures kneeled before him.

"Boys, tonight, we will revive the ancient stories. We will remind them who we are, and who sent us down here. Tonight, my dear fallen angels, we will re-write history, and all of you here will be a part of it." said the figure in front.

"All of you have been briefed on your job. Be careful: we may be targetting Angelics, but there is an Angel amongst them. Kill them all if you must, but leave **HER** for me."

"Yes sir." echoed all of them in unison.

The demon lord flared his wings, and in doing so, his army stood, and in one fluid movement their spread their wings, and flew off into the night, momentarily blocking the moonlight as they rose into the air.

The demon lord smiled: his long red hair flowing in the night breeze. He watched the skies above him, satisfied, as his army floated in mid-air, waiting for his lead. And in a speed unmatched by any of his army, he shot up into the air, 3 pairs of black wings stretching themselves to their full width as they flew down, towards the Moon Kingdom.

* * *

It was 2am in the morning. Haruka had just returned to her room an hour earlier, and immediately threw herself into bed, not bothering to change out of her clothes. She was completely exhausted, having spent the entire day watching and petrolling her designated areas before arriving back at Miranda Castle, taking a quick shower, a quick change of clothes, before teleporting herself over to Earth for the party.

They had spent the last 5-6 hours catching up: a whirlwind of a summary to fit almost 200years worth of stories into those few hours. But despite that, the tall tomboy had thoroughly enjoyed herself in the company of the few people she trusted with her life. And so she had agreed to stay, against her better judgement, solely because she knew it would make her Queen happy.

Suddenly, her communicator beeped. She sleepily reached for her communication device and flipped it open, and without opening her eyes, she spoke.

"Ura? Oh god I'm sorry I forgot to tell you - " She apologized sleepily, realizing that she had forgotten to inform her sprite that she would not be home.

"Your Highness!" came the response. She winced. She never liked that title: it was too formal, and she was never one to be attracted to terms of formality like that. "There's been an emergency!" her spirte squeaked. Immediately, she sat up from her bed, completely awake.

"What is it?" She said, as she jumped out of bed.

"I'm sorry! I've been watching the monitors all night but they were under my radar. I didn't notice it until it's too late."

"Ura, please. Get to the point." She urged.

"Sorry! It's the black-winged creatures from the last time."

"Where are they headed?" she asked, but when she turned to the still-open window, she froze.

"They're on their way to the Moon Kingdom!" squeaked her sprite in response.

Haruka couldn't respond, she was staring in awe at the sight before her. _You're wrong. They're already here._ she thought to herself as she stared at the the black dots that almost blocked out the moonlight.

"Ura, inform Neptune." She said tensely. Transforming quickly, she pushed the window open and jumped out of it. _I knew this was a bad idea. We should have gone back to our posts._ Sailor Uranus thought to herself as she felt slightly more awake with the cold wind blasting in her face.

"URANUS!" came the teasing, melodic voice of her partner. Behind her were the rest of the Sailor Senshi. The 11 of them stood in a row, watching as the creatures drew closer to them.

"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Sailor Jupiter asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Let's do this." Sailor Venus replied, and with that all 11 of them shot forward. Sailor Uranus watched as the battle raged around her. The creatures moved at great speed, but there was something different about them. Not only did they move faster than the first wave, they were much stronger. Sailor Uranus could see the Inners were struggling with the speed of these creatures, but she had her hands full.

* * *

The demon lord looked at the fight around him: blasts of light flashing as the Senshis fought, each surrounded by an endless sea of black wings. Then he saw her: and in an instant he knew she was the one he had been searching for.

She, unlike the rest of them, was fast, and she was powerful. He watched for few moments as she fought with intense speed and strength. She exuded strength, but she had the uncanny grace of a creature he had not seen in milleniums. Allowing a smile to grace his pearly white skin, he flew over to where she was.

"I'm impressed." He said, hands in leather pockets as he flew effortlessly towards her. The black-winged creatures backed off, circling the two of them. Sailor Uranus turned to look at him, a hand carelessly resting on her hip.

"I'm guessing you're the boss here." said Uranus coldly, as he gave him a quick sweeping look, before resting her eyes on his 3 pairs of wings.

"Fast, smart, and cocky." he replied, with a smirk on his face. Uranus continued to stare at him wordlessly. "My name is Damien Sinclair." Uranus blinked, confusion apparent on her face. She had heard that name before, but she couldn't quite place it. The demon lord smiled. "I see you've heard of me, Almighty Uranian Princess."

"What do you want?" Uranus asked, keeping a close eye on his army surrounding her.

"Don't worry, they won't attack unless I tell them to." blood red eyes continued to stare at her. Uranus smirked, but stayed silent. "I've come to take back what's rightfully mine."

In a swift motion, Sailor Uranus summoned a golden ball of energy, aiming it directly at the demon lord. Just before it was about to hit him, he raised a hand and stopped her attack easily.

Sailor Uranus's eyes widened.

"Now, relax. We're just talking." He said with a smile, waving a hand. The circle of demons around her opened up, and what she saw in the gap made her heart stop. In the sharp hands of the winged demons, tightly in their grasp, was the Moon Princess and the others. Each of them pinned down by one of the winged creatures: sharpened talon-like fingernails precariously pressed against their necks.

"So talk." Sailor Uranus said coldly, never taking her eyes off her Queen. She hated being in these type of scenarios, but she wasn't going to allow anything to happen to her Queen.

"You see, I came here looking for someone. Someone I haven't seen in millions of years. Someone who has a small star tattooed on her heart. I came here, for you, Haruka." He said, his eyes twinkling as he watched her eyes widened, her hands absentmindedly clenching and unclenching.

"Uranus." she heard Neptune say in almost a whisper, and in that one word she knew Neptune understood as well as she did.

"What do you want from me?" She asked, her mind reeling. _How in the hell would he know that?_

"I want you to come with me. You have my word that I won't let my men hurt your friends, as long as you come with me."

"Why the hell should I believe you?"

"Because I could have just as easily killed them, and you know it." was the cold reply. Without a word, he signalled two of his men, who flew up next to her. "So what will it be?"

Uranus sighed, defeated. She had known the moment they subdued her Queen and King she had her hands tied. Taking that as a signal of her agreement, the demon lord nodded. The two demons grabbed her wrists and snapped on two thin silver bracelets. The moment both bracelets snapped shut around her wrists, she felt them burn white hot, before her strength and power disappeared from her body. Before she knew it, she was back in her civilian clothings.

She felt strangely weak: her eyes rolled back into her head, and she blacked out. Both demons grabbed her, preventing her from falling through the air.

* * *

When she awoke, she found herself in a small prison cell. As her eyes started to get accustomed to the darkness, she realized that her ankles and wrists were bound by thick steel chain, twisted tightly around her neck and waist, locked to a deadbolt on the wall.

She struggled for a while, before realizing that her body felt unusually drained, as though all the strength in her body had left her. And then she felt it, the unfamiliar warmth on her wrist. And in that instant, she remembered everything that happened the night before.

"I see you're awake." came the voice that reminded her of the blood red eyes pouring into hers. The Demon Lord stepped out into the light. Her eyes narrowed.

"Is this really necessary?"

"No. I know you won't do anything as long as your Princess is in our hands. And as long as you're wearing those bracelets you're powerless anyway."

"Then what's the point?" she asked irritably.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." the demon lord said mysteriously.

"Sir, you called for me?" came a female voice. Haruka's eyes narrowed. The voice was oddly familiar, but she couldn't place it.

"Yes, come in here." came the response from the demon lord.

"Yes sir." came the response as she heard a creaking sound, the opening of her cell door. Haruka blinked a few times as she tried to see past the light. There was something in that voice that pissed her off, something about that voice that drove a cold shiver down her spine, that made her skin turn cold.

And when the light in her cell turned on, momentarily blinding her. She winced, blinking away the bright lights dancing in front of her. And when she finally got used to the sudden brightness, the figure she saw in front of her made her blood boil.

Everything about the woman in front of her pissed Haruka off to no end. Standing scantily clad in a small leather bikini top and leather shorts that left nothing to imagination, complete with black leather knee-high boots and black gloves, was the one person she wanted to see the least, especially while she was stuck in this position. With her raven hair tied back messily into a long ponytail, a pair of sleek black wings pulled back respectfully, and midnight blue eyes that betrayed the shocked expression she was sure was mirrored on her face.

"Ten'ou?!"

"Kou."


	4. Chapter 4

:) Chapter 4 is up! Hope you guys like it so far. I think this is probably the most complicated chapter EVER written. So if you're confused please feel free to ask me!

* * *

In the past few days, Seiya had heard that Damien and his higher-ups were planning something big. He wasn't surprised: for centuries he had heard stories of a rebellion forming, waiting for this day. What exactly made this day special, he had no idea. And so, he had not been shocked to see the Demon King's army rise from the darkness, heading off to an unknown destination. And a few hours later, he watched as they returned, the army at least halved. Whatever happened, the battle must have been fierce.

But that was the extent of Seiya's knowledge of the Demon Lord's first plan. As a mid-ranked Demonic, it was his job to ensure the security of the Demon Realm, patrolling the perimeters and reporting to his superior. So it caught him off guard when the Demon Lord had summoned him to his castle.

The castle of the Demon Lord was strictly off limits to all Demonics, except for a select few. This was to be the first time Seiya had entered the formidable fortress.

"Demonic Kou Seiya of Kinmoku Nebula", a dark voice echoed through the huge grand hall. Seiya fell to his knees.

"I have been watching you, and I'm impressed with your focus and dedication. So, because of that, I'm giving you a new assignment."

Seiya stayed, unmoving, his eyes focused on the ground, not daring to look up.

"I'm not sure if you've heard, but we've brought back a prisoner. She is very important to our plans and a key part of our mission. I need you to look after her, make sure she doesn't try to escape, and at the same time, make sure she doesn't contact anyone."

"Why me?" Seiya finally asked. He was well aware the army would be more than capable in dealing with any prisoner they may have brought back. The Demon Lord seemed to have understood Seiya's thoughts.

"We've researched into her background, and yours. You would be best suited for the job." was the simple answer given to him. Seiya nodded: who was he to argue with Damien.

And so he had prepared, transforming into his female counterpart, allowing black leather to envelope his new female anatomy. He never liked being in his female form, but clearly Damien had counted on his firepower, and he was not one to disappoint his Lord.

As a set of black wings emerged from his back, completing his transformation, he walked towards the prison cells where Damien had directed him. The cell room was dark, and he could barely make out a shadow, bound by silver chains against the wall.

"Sir, you called for me?" she had asked, announcing her presence.

"Yes, come in here." came the response from the demon lord.

"Yes sir." with that, she swung open the door, wincing momentarily as it squeaked. As she entered the room, lights flooded the small cell, revealing a small-sized bed and a barely sanitary washroom.

And then he saw the figure pinned to the wall. It had been ages since he last saw her, but the expression on her face was enough to tell him she was not the least happy to see him. But there was something about that seemed different. Her blonde hair was just as messily tousled as it always had been, bright green eyes that glared at him with the most poisonous of venoms. And then he realised it: the blonde always had an air of arrogance around her, but she had always exuded strength and power. This was the first time he had seen her like this, weak, bound and defeated.

"Ten'ou?!" was the first thing he managed to say.

"Kou." came the bitter, yet dangerously low response, burning with hatred.

* * *

Seiya and Haruka continued to stare at each other, Haruka vaguely aware that she was in a position she'd never want to be in around the Starlight: restrained, bound and kneeling on the disgusting gravel.

Damien watched the dangerous sparks fly between the two, satisfied. He had done his research, and was pleasantly surprised to find that one of his own Demonics was capable of standing his ground against one of the strongest Senshi amongst Queen Serenity's entourage. A soft beep caught his awareness. He glanced down at his watched. Cursing under his breath, he turned to Seiya.

"Look after her. I'll be back in 5." he instructed before he left the room, leaving the two old enemies alone with each other for the first time in both their neverending lives. Haruka continued to stare soundlessly at the Starlight, scrutinizing his female form as she pulled a chair from outside, and sat down in front of her, her dark blue eyes never leaving Haruka's green ones, each silently daring the other to start a conversation. Finally, Haruka broke the silence.

"Bet you like this, don't you?" she asked coldly, but she could almost sense the bitterness in her voice. Seiya allowed herself to silently contemplate an answer to give. Finally, deciding to ignore her question completely, she leant back on the chair, gently crossing her feet, allowing her high leather boots to kick the dust off the pavement. Seiya watched, somewhat happily, as Haruka struggled helplessly against the binds.

"It's no use, and you know it." She finally said. Haruka shot him a glare, before finally deciding that it wasn't worth whatever strength she had left to fight it. Instead, Seiya noticed, her hands gripping on her wrists, trying to pull off the bracelets on her wrists. Seiya shook her head again.

"Like I said, it's no use." she repeated in a monotone, watching as the blonde, clearly not taking her word for it, continue to pry at the bracelets. "If it's any consolation, Taiki designed them."

Haruka stopped, calculating her actions, having lost every single bit of strength she had left. Struggling had only resulted in the chains tightening around her throat and her waist.

"Out of curiousity, how did they manage to... er..." Seiya waved generally at her situation. She watched her hands clench momentarily, and for a second he admired how even the bracelet seemed to have a lesser effect on her than on most people. Most people would barely even be able to stay conscious, much less struggle as much as she did.

She also knew for a fact that Lord Damien's demonic army would have, on usual occasion, not have been a match for the tall Wind Senshi, who would have easily outrun any of the Demonics. Haruka glared at her angrily, before coldly replying, "Your dumbass Lord of the Shit played dirty."

Without having to ask further, Seiya understood. Only one woman in the universe would have been able to make the blonde surrender and allowed herself to be unceremoniously subdued like that.

"What's the matter, is your heart aching?" Haruka murmured weakly, her struggle finally taking its toll on her. But she had seen the glazed look in her eye, and knew instantly that Seiya understood: that the only way they could have subdued her without as much as her fighting back, was to threaten her with her Queen's life.

"Surprised?" she asked, an eyebrow raised, her long fingers absendmindedly tapping her knee.

"Not as surprised as I am to see you as Fighter." Haruka replied quietly, stretching her long legs out in front of her, her back leaning against the wall. The movement caused her to tighten the chains around her body, coughing as the chains choked her windpipe.

"Part of the job." Seiya shrugged, before de-transforming, emerging in his black shirt and slacks.

"I almost forgot how strange that looks." Haruka commented, her breathing slowing down, her body slack, arms lifted over her head by the chains binding her. She coughed again, and winced.

Seiya stood up, and walked over to her, kneeling down in front of her. This was probably the first time they had ever been so close to each other, he thought to himself, as he reached out a hand to her. As his hand reached her, she recoiled, a shocked expression on her face. She struggled to fight him, to create as much distance between herself and him as possible.

"Calm down. I'm supposed to be looking after you, not watching you strangle yourself." Seiya said, as he reached for her neck, and easily loosened the chains enough for her to breathe, before stepping back. And just at that moment, the creak of the cell door signalled Damien's return.

"I see you've gotten yourself comfortable." Damien said with a smile. Haruka continued staring at him in silence.

"What exactly do you want with me?" she finally said.

"Let me tell you a story." He said, flinging his long crimson hair over his shoulders, pulling the chair that Seiya had dragged in earlier, and sitting on it, his hands propped against the backrest as he stared at her.

"Once upon a time, before the world we now know, there was a realm. A realm of Angels who weren't happy with owning the heavens, they wanted to own everything. They forbade themselves to helping humans, but watched as the humans destroyed the one thing they were sworn to protect: Mother Gaia."

"I know the story. An Angel named Serenity flew down from the heavens to change that, ended up meeting her prince, giving birth to an Angelic, sent back to Heaven to watch over the new Angelic species along with the Queen's Court of 8. What's your point?" She asked crudely, as she struggled to stay awake.

"That's where my story starts. You see... when Angelics were created, so were another new species. You see, on Earth, as you well must know, every black has a white, every yin has its yang.

While the Angelics strived to help humans with the life, showing them what they deemed was the "right" way, another bunch of us believed in a different reality. We wanted to give humans the CHOICE to decide what they wanted, instead of being TOLD what to do. We believed they HAD to make mistakes to learn what they truly wanted.

The King and Queen disagreed with our thoughts, and after several wars they decided to split Heaven into 3 different levels: Aviane, were the _purest _of Angels lived, Neo, where Serenity resides with the Angelics, and Gremory, where us Dark Angels were outcasted to.

Similarly to the Angels, some of us had integrated into the human world, creating Demonics: dark Angelics. We swore that when the time was right, we would re-unify everything, and give humans the freedom we once dreamt for them."

Haruka stared at him. "You're not expecting me to believe all of that is real, do you?"

The Demon Lord laughed. "No. I'm not expecting you to believe it. I'm telling you it's real. All of it. You see... they left out one part of the story. A very significant part.

The Court of 8 descended to Neo with the newly crowned Neo-Queen Serenity, with the mission of protecting Neo-Queen Serenity as their first and foremost mission. When that happened, 5 of the Court eventually descended to Earth and followed Neo-Queen Serenity's footsteps, settling down with human counterparts, giving birth to their own Angelic offspring.

2 of them remained in Heaven, bound by their duties to the universe, to govern over time, life, death, and to continue serving as an in-between link from Aviane and Neo.

Only 2 of the Angels never set a foot on Earth, settling down in Heaven, choosing intead to stay by their Queen's side, watching over her every step of the way." His eyes gleamed.

Seiya's jaw dropped. He was starting to link the pieces together, and everything Damien was saying was amazing, impossible, and yet, he knew what his Demon Lord spoke was the truth. But Haruka, who did not yet seem to piece the pieces together, continued to stare at Damien, her eyes reduced to slits.

"You see," he continued, unfazed by the death glare the Uranian Princess was sending him. "The Court of 8 were the supreme powers of Heaven, guarding over various elements of Earth. And when they reproduced, they passed on their skills to their offspring.

The offspring of Neo-Queen Serenity, is the one you now call Queen Serenity. The 4 of the Court of 8 that descended to Earth, eventually gave birth to what the humans called Inner Sailor Senshi. Your comrades, Princesses Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter. All of them were Angelics, born of 4 of the Court of 8, given the powers of their ancestors.

Sailor Pluto and Saturn, Guardians of Time, Life and Death, continue to serve the King Phantos and Queen Stella even till this day, all the while watching on their mission to assist Neo-Queen Serenity and her offspring, who has now created the Moon Kingdom on Earth.

And then came the Angelic War. Neo-Queen perished, sending her child to Earth, where she would no doubt reawaken as Sailor Moon. She sent the final 2 of the Court of 8 with a mission that they would hold for life: to spend eternity protecting her daughter and their Kingdom. And for eternity since then, that's exactly what these 2 have done, governing over Sky and Sea to look after their Queen and her Kingdom."

Haruka stared at him. This part of the story even she knew. No matter how many milleniums passed, that would never change. She was, afterall, destined to protect her Princess, without a question, without a doubt. But what Damien was saying: it couldn't be true, it sounded too ridiculous, too impossible.

"Still don't believe me?" he asked. How could she, afterall? She had heard these stories as children. But there was no way in hell that this could even be remotely true.

"You're expecting me to believe, that I'm supposed to be one of the Court of 8?" Haruka laughed. Damien smiled at her, shaking his head, his crimson hair falling handsomely over his face.

"No. You misunderstand me. The final 2 of the Court of 8, Sycorax and Poseidon, did give birth to children respectively: whose powers were stronger than the rest of the Inners who are merely Angelics, your Queen Serenity included.

Poseidon settled down with the nephew of King Phantos, and gave birth to Kai'ou Michiru, Angel of the Seas, blessed with the power to prophesize future dangers, with the elegance of the gentlest rivers but the power of the raging waves.

Sycorax, on the other hand, gave birth to the Princess of the Winds, destined to be the fastest, wildest, untameable. Able to hear the wind whispering in her ears, with the grace of a light breeze but the power of typhoons. Sycorax of the Court of 8, gave birth to Princess Uranus."

Haruka froze. Despite not being a believer in these myths, even she was starting to believe it. Everything made sense. She had always wondered why they were so different from the Inner Senshi, but had attributed it to just being stronger and with a different mission.

Where the Inner Senshi were reborn on Earth with the power of the Silver Crystal, never regaining their previous memories, she and Neptune were merely re-awoken when the right time came. They had never truly aged, even before the Moon Crystal enabled eternal life for everyone in the Moon Kingdom.

Damien smiled, knowing that Haruka had finally started to believe everything he was saying.

"If we're really Angels and Angelics, why don't we have wings? In all those stories I've heard, Angels were born with 3 pairs of wings, and Angelics with 1. I'm sure I would have noticed if I grew wings overnight." Haruka shot back.

"_Typical. She won't believe in it until she's completely run out of ways around it"_ thought Seiya to himself.

"Angels and Angelics aren't born with wings. Their wings appear when they turn of age. Angelics grow their first set of wings at 25, Angels go on to their second set at 26 and the last at 27. When Queen Serenity stopped everyone from ageing, she stopped this process as well.

As far as your Angelic and Angel genetic code is concerned, all of you are merely 22 and 24, too early to grow your first set of wings. Take for example Seiya here. When he returned to Kinmoku after your last battle, he aged. That's why he grew his set of wings. Typically speaking, he's 26 now, at least in terms of his body's age."

Haruka just stared at Seiya, who flapped his wings for emphasis. She frowned.

"How do you know so much about me, and how is it I know nothing of this when I was awakened." she finally asked, remembering that he had mentioned the tattoo on her chest.

"Because, Queen Stella made it so that none of you would remember anything."

"Why?"

"Because, one of her Court of 8 defied the rules. Sure, she had given birth to a pure Angel, but at the same time, the creature that she had given birth to was no ordinary Angel. The child was to be blessed with the powers of 2 of the most powerful creatures in Heaven, but was to live life as an abomination, forever feared, forever alone. None of you remember anything, because, your ancestor, the Angel Sycorax, broke that rule."

Haruka stared at him with a completely blank look on his face. Even Seiya looked remotely confused.

"Ten'ou Haruka, Uranian Princess, you are the abomination that Queen Stella and King Phantos feared all these years. Because you, and only you, were blessed with the powers of both Angel... and Demon." Haruka's eyes widened. _This cannot be happening._ Damien's eyes twinkled as he watched her struggle.

"Haven't you realized, that while none of your friends could defeat my army, you did so single-handedly, without much effort. You are completely unlike any of the other Princesses, you care nothing for feelings or emotions, and you believed in selling your soul to the dark side, allowing yourself to stain your hands, in order to not burden your Princess, who after so many centuries, you are still trying to protect.

You have the unrivalled speed of demons, the power of both Angel and Demon, the heart of an Angel. But you are neither Angel of Demon: you're a pure species of a completely different nature. Angel Sycorax, fearing your wings would turn black when you turned 25, never told this secret to anyone, hoping for the best."

"Bullshit." Haruka said coldly. "How the hell would you know something like that?"

"Because, I was the Demon who impregnated Sycorax."

"LIAR." Haruka screamed. She didn't care anymore. Fighting against the chains that bound her, she struggled to get up. Damien watched her, impressed. The bracelets that his Demonic had created sapped almost all energy from anyone wearing it, but yet, here she was, fighting with every last ounce of power she still somehow had.

Damien stood up, and walked over to her, and smiled, placing a hand to rest next to her face.

"You have an eternity to choose whether you want to accept it or not." He whispered into her ear, before sweeping his hand over her face. Immediately, her body went limp, and she collasped, with only her chains keeping her from hitting the ground, hard.

"Seiya, look after her. When she wakes up, make sure she eats something. I don't want her dead. Look for me once she's ready to accept it." He said, turning around.

"Sir." Seiya finally called out. The Demon Lord turned to him, his eyes surveying the young Demonic.

"I'm sorry if I'm crossing the line, but is everything you said true?" Seiya asked. The Demon Lord smiled at him knowingly, before turning around and disappearing into the darkness.

_Of course it's true, my dear Demonic. But there's one more secret I have to keep for a little while more. Until all this is over, until all of us can have our own dream, instead of being exiled like we are now. Until then, my Demonic, believe in me. I will do nothing to harm the people I'm fighting for, or the ones I care about. _He thought to himself as he exited the cell, closing the door firmly, leaving a dumbstruck starlight with a comatosed blonde.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi all! Thanks for the comments thus far. I PROMISE (at least for those who are waiting for the next chapter of Wind Beneath My Wings) I will update that soon! I've just been a bit brain blocked. And this story is writing itself LOL. Also, a gentle note: this story is a lot darker than I probably can imagine. :)

* * *

Seiya sat on the stone cold chair, getting somewhat restless. He had been watching an unconscious blonde for slightly more than 3 hours, and she had yet to awaken. He sighed, wondering how in the hell did he get himself into this situation, but he knew that deep down inside, he wouldn't have changed a single thing.

***FlashBack***

After the last battle, he and his brothers had returned home with Princess Kakyuu, in an attempt to revive their planet. But as the Planet began flourishing, the Fireball Princess grew weaker and weaker. Within years, her conditioned took a turn for the worse, and by the time 6 years had passed, Princess Kakyuu's spark seemed to vanish before them, and all three of them knew it was a matter of time before she would leave them.

And then HE came, appearing in front of them one night.

"Your Princess is dying. I'm here to give you a way out. Sign your souls to me, and I will grant you eternal life with your Princess. I will ensure nothing bad happens to her, in return for your eternal bond to me."

The three had looked at each other, uncertain about the choices they were going to make, but it wasn't a question worth considering. If there was a way to save their Princess, even for 1 more day, they would have done anything they could.

"Deal." the three said simultaneously, as a dark light bathed them, and dark wings sprouted from their backs.

***End of FlashBack***

He snapped back to his thoughts when he heard the blonde stirring. Green eyes blinked for a few moments, before snapping open. While she had been unconscious, Seiya had pulled the bed over to her, depositing her on top of it. With the leverage of the bed, her arms could rest by her sides.

"How are you feeling?" He finally asked, more to announce his presence than anything. She glared at him, twisting herself into a more comfortable seated position, her gaze never leaving his, contemplating on whether she should answer. Finally she spoke, in a voice that was strangely unlike her own.

"How does it look like I'm feeling?" she said bitterly. "Or are you some sort of bondage freak. I'm pretty sure that Demon Lord of yours is."

Seiya laughed, realizing that the blonde had somehow managed to regain some part of her seemingly never-ending strength. "That 'Demon Lord of mine', is, unless you hit your head so hard when you collapsed that you've forgotten, your father."

"Haven't you heard of the saying, 'It is not his blood in you that makes him your father. It is your respect and trust in him, that makes him a father to you"?" Haruka replied, coughing slightly, surveying the black haired starlight with distaste.

Seiya nodded, leaving the cell for a moment, and returning with a cup of water.

"Here." he offered her the small plastic cup. She slapped it out of his hands.

"I don't need your help." she muttered, venom spewing in her words. Seiya walked out silently, returning with a second cup of water.

"Since the day we met, when have I ever _wanted_ or **agreed** to help you." Seiya replied, more of a statement than a question. "I'm just not about to disappoint the Demon Lord after everything he's done for us." He said, placing the cup on the chair, and walked over to her, keeping a safe distance from her, remembering that the bracelets did not affect her as much as it affected anyone else before her.

"Look. With your body in this state, you can't do shit. You're no use to me, no use to my Lord, no use to yourself or Queen Serenity if you're dead. Besides, you can't die, no matter how you try. Now, I'm giving you two options. Either you take the cup yourself and drink it, or I'm going to force it down your throat."

"I'd love to see you try." she challenged. In a blink of an eye, he charged at her, catching her by surprise, pinning her on the bed. For a moment, he watched, triumphant as her eyes narrowed, before he heard the chains clink against each other.

He jumped back, just in time to avoid her fist burying into the side of his face. He was surprised: it wasn't a strong punch, he knew perfectly that she was capable of knocking the daylights out of him, but still, the fact that she could still raise a fist against him in her current state was admirable. He took a step back, watching as she raised herself back into a sitting position.

He wasn't afraid of her. He watched as she continued to stare at him for what seemed like forever, and he stood in front of her, hands in his pockets, allowing her to. For the first time, he had the advantage, and as long as the bracelets remained on her arms he knew he wasn't going to be any real danger.

"What's it going to be." He finally asked, breaking the silence. Haruka growled bitterly. She hated to admit it, but he was right. Whether she was going to escape or whatever she was plan she had yet to come up with, she had to get her stamina and strength back.

You're no use to me, no use to my Lord, no use to yourself or Queen Serenity if you're dead.

Those words continued to ring in her ears. She looked at him again, wondering doubtfully if he was trying to tell her something. Truth be told, if she was honest with herself, her trust in him all those centuries back, was more of a desperate need than actual trust. She knew that even if the two of them had been fighting on the same side now, she would not trust him with her life, much less in this situation. But he was right about one thing: if she was going to figure a way out of this alive, she needed, for now, to nourish her body.

Taking the blonde's silence as her form of agreement, knowing fully well that the blonde would rather die than admit that she needed help, he took the plastic cup from the chair and handed it over to her. She took the cup in her hands, staring at it suspiciously for a second.

"Where do your loyalties lie now?" she finally managed to ask. Seiya blinked for a few seconds, surprised at the tone the blonde was taking: it wasn't accusing nor was it invading, instead it was a highly curious tone that she took as she gingerly sniffed the liquid.

"The same as they've always been." he said dismissively waving a hand, inviting her to drink. "It's not poison. Besides, Damien's already told you, you're immortal. There's no point in trying to kill you." She looked him him, her eyes narrowing again, before dipping a finger into the liquid, and licking her finger. Finally deciding that it was definitely nothing else besides water, she drank the plastic cup and threw it on the floor.

Just then, the cell door swung open, and 4 Demonics walked in, all 4 of them wearing identical black shirt and pants, with silver chains hanging on their right hip. Seiya stood up immediately. Their clothes was uniform to the Demon Lord's own army, and the chains were reserved for the top 15 members of his army.

"Damien's sent us for her." said one simply. Seiya nodded, vaguely wondering if he should mention that the blonde was not going to go down without a fight. But watching them approach her cautiously, he figured they probably were already aware.

He watched as two of them approached her cautiously from both ends of the bed. She swung her hand at the nearest two, who caught her hand and forcibly pulled her towards him, while the other quickly pulled her hands in front of her, locking them in place, before placing chained cuffs on her ankles. Once he was sure she was secure, he unlocked the bolt on the wall, releasing her from her chains, before the first unceremoniously threw her on the floor. She fought to sit back up, but the first slammed into her, knocking the wind out of her.

"Just because you're immortal doesn't mean I can't do things to you that would make you wish you were dead." the largest of the four whispered with an evil smirk on his face. He then signalled the others with a jerk of his head. The Demon pinning her to the ground forced her torso off the ground and held her tightly by the waist as she struggled to free herself from his vice-like grip. A third came forward and blindfolded her, tying a black sashi tightly across her eyes.

He then attached a thick chain through the loop on the cuffs on her wrists, before handing the other end of the chain to his leader. Positioning themselves on all four sides of her, the leader of the four yanked at the chain, dragging her unceremoniously out of the cell.

Seiya followed behind the four of them, silently feeling sorry for the blonde. Admittedly he had never liked her much, but even he felt bad for her current predictament.

* * *

"My Lord, we've brought the girl." the leader of the 4 announced as they entered, grabbing the remaining chain suddenly and yanked it forward, causing the blonde to fall. It took the blonde every bit of her restraint to not scream when she lost balance, falling painfully on the concrete floor.

Damien watched, unmoving, as the blonde tore off the blindfold and pulled herself somewhat gracefully off the ground. Her hair was in a mess, her clothes were crumpled and dirty, but nothing distracted him from the fire in her eyes, and the strange, but powerful aura that enveloped her. Her emerald eyes fell on him, as her eyes narrowed, silently surveying the room she was in.

"I'm not sure whether to be honored that you figured it took 4 of them to restrain me with these stupid bracelet on my wrists, or to be insulted by the fact that you somehow think that Kou here was enough." She said, her eyes burning.

"Don't joke around. I'm more than enough for you." said the leader of the 4. Haruka turned around, and Seiya nearly broke out in laughter: there was the cocky smile that had been missing off the blonde's face in the past day. At that moment, Seiya felt as though time had rewound itself, and they were standing in front of each other, staring each other down.

"You wouldn't be ready to fight me in this condition, even if I gave you another century to train." She laughed hoarsely, clanking the shackles around her arms for emphasis.

In a blink of an eye, before Seiya could even move, the leader shot at Haruka, wings flaring, fists raised. Just before he would have come in contact with her, Haruka grabbed the chains hanging loosely on her wrists, flinging it towards him. As she expected, he caught it with his right hand, twisting it around his palm, pulling her in.

She sidestepped him as his momentum caused him to shoot past her, and before he could turn around, she looped the chain around his neck, pulling it tight.

"Don't think that just because I don't have much strength left, that I don't know how to use your strengths against you." She murmured.

Damien watched the fight, intrigued and impressed. He had known she was strong and fast, but he had not expected her to be able to defend herself against one of the top 15 of his army, with or without the bracelets.

The demon released the chain, his elbow digging into her stomach as she yelled in surprise, and collapsed. He stood over her, fists still raised.

"Yasel, stop." came Damien's cool voice as he signalled the demon to back off. The demon nodded, a dark sadistic look on his face, retreating to his previous spot.

"I'm impressed. You've chosen well, Damien." came a voice that echoed through the room, leaving goosebumps on Seiya's skin. A Demon walked out from behind the shadows, his white hair bellowing behind him as crimson eyes betrayed no emotions. A fiery staff clutched in his long thin pearly-white fingers as he somewhat glided up to them.

Immediately, all 5 demons, with the exception of Damien, fell to their knees. "King Lucius."

"Father. I didn't know you were here." Damien bowed respectfully. Damien's father walked past Damien, and with one flick of his finger, Haruka found her body quickly leaving the floor, as though she was being supported up by an invisible stranger.

"So this was the child you spawned with that Angel." He said in an a-matter-of-fact voice, his voice ice cold. Haruka tried to struggle but her body did not seem to respond.

"Yes." was Damien's only response.

"She's strong. With little training she'll be able to lead our army to victory."

"And what makes you think I'm going to agree to it?" The words came out of her mouth before she even thought about it. The Demon King stopped pacing, his blank eyes staring at her, intrigued.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked, his face coming close to hers. "I am Lucius, Leader of Demons and Demonics, Master of the Underworld." He said, as he brushed a finger across her face. "I control everything in this realm, everything that has demonic blood is under my power. That, at this point, includes you, my darling."

"Don't believe me?" He asked in a mocking tone. He stretched out a long finger. Haruka resisted, but her arms moved on their own. With a snap of his fingers, the shackles binding her arms dropped with a crash on the floor.

"I can make you strong if I want to." He said, waving his arms over her hands, and in that instant she felt warmth enveloping her fingers, and part of her strength returning to her.

"I can make you weak if I want to." He continued, and in that instant, she felt her strength once again disappearing from her body.

"I can do anything to you." He grabbed her wrist, and she screamed in pain as an ungodly pain wrecked through her weak body.

"Father, please." Damien stepped up. Lucius' eyes averted from hers, looking over at his son. He released her, and within seconds she recovered, her body still unable to move freely. Haruka's jaw clenched. "What the hell is going on here, and exactly what the hell do you want from me?" Haruka asked. Lucius raised an eyebrow at Damien, "I like her attitude. She's fiesty."

The Demon King turned back to Haruka, a finger brushing the side of her face. "Now now my darling grand daughter, don't be so hasty." He laughed sinisterly. "I have things to attend to. You know where to find me if you need me." And with that, he flashed himself out, leaving a small trail of black feathers at the spot he once stood.

The moment he disappeared, Haruka fell to the ground, no longer bound by his magic, still wincing from her earlier experience. The 5 kneeling demons stood up. The one called Yasel moved quickly forward, intending to re-cuff her, but Damien waved him away.

"Are you okay?" Damien asked, unable to keep the concern out of his voice. Kneeling down next to her, he placed his hand on her shoulders. She brushed his hand off her rudely, forcing herself back on her feet, only to stumble slightly.

"Fine." She muttered, trying to steady herself.

"Good. Follow me." He instructed as he turned his back on her. His army stepped up to follow him, but Damien waved them off.

"No. Just her. Seiya you can wait for her here. The rest of you are dismissed."

"But sir." One objected. "It's not a good idea for - " He started, but was cut off as Damien slowly turned around to face him.

"Think carefully about what you're going to say next, Siren." he said darkly, his crimson eyes staring at the demon. The demon opened his mouth, and closed it wordlessly, before averting his gaze, and the 4 demons walked off.

"What the hell - makes you - think - I'm - going to follow you." Haruka said between breaths, trying to catch her breath. She didn't want to admit it, but the previous encounter took a lot of strength out of her, and now she was completely exhausted.

"You wanted to know what we want from you. I'm going to show you." He said, turning his back on them again, and walking out.

Haruka stumbled, but followed him silently. _I have to know what I'm dealing with._ He led her into a large room.

"I haven't been completely honest with you." he said.

"You're holding my princess hostage." She accused. "So. What is the truth?"

"We want to cause some chaos in Aviane, possibly overthrow the current King and Queen, King Phantos and Queen Stella."

"What do you need me for?"

"Let me tell you a secret that we learnt during the Angelic war. Angels and Demons are not immortal, neither are Angelics and Demonics. Angelics and Demonics have a fixed lifespan of about ten thousand years. Pure-blooded Angels and Demons, while are able to live forever, can also be killed. Angels and Demons have 3 sets of wings for a reason. Their wings represent their body, mind and soul. Remove their wings, and they become mortal. Remove their wings, and they can be killed."

"You didn't answer my question." Haruka pointed out.

"Without Angel blood we are not allowed to trespass into Angel or Angelic territory. Our demon blood won't allow us to cross the borders. But you, with Princess Sycorax's blood in your veins, will be able to cross the border." Damien answered carefully.

"What you're trying to say is: I don't have wings, so I can't be slayed." Haruka said, reading his mind.

"You're just like Princess Sycorax, smart, powerful and defiant." He laughed. _You look just like her too._ Haruka was taken aback. For a moment, his crimson eyes softened as he looked at her.

_Did you love her?_ she wondered, but decided this wasn't a time for that.

"What makes you think I'm going to kill for you?"

"Because it's your destiny. For now, everything will happen in peace. A thousand years from now, Queen Stella will decree that her Court of 8 had betrayed her, and will call for the destruction of the Moon Kingdom. When that happens, everything you have stood to protect will turn to dust. Your Princess will die, along with her comrades. To protect your precious Princess, this is something that you have to do."

"Why should I trust you?"

"We Demons may have strayed from the purity of Angels, but we are not sadists. We only long to let humans make their own mistakes. If you don't believe me, maybe someone else would be able to convince you." Damien waved as the door opened. Haruka turned around, and her jaw dropped. Standing in front of her, in her black and purple Sailor fuku, stood Sailor Pluto.

"Setsuna? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm the Senshi of Time and Afterlife. Where else would I be?" Setsuna asked with a smile, bowing momentarily at Damien.

"Why didn't you warn us?"

"Because this was something you had to find out for yourself. I know I put the Princess in danger, but rest assured that she'll be fine. What Damien says is true. If we let this go on any further, the future as we know it will cease to exist."

"I'll leave you two ladies to talk." Damien said, and disappeared.

* * *

Seiya paced the outside of the room back and forth feverishly. He desperately wanted to know what they were talking about, but he knew it was not his place. _Why is that stupid blonde so important? _

Ever since he had found out it was the blonde that the Demon Lord was after, he couldn't stop thinking about the blonde. And in the past few hours, he had been nothing short of being impressed at the blonde. She was never one to bow down to anyone other than her Princess, and clearly, even the Demon King Lucius was not an exception.

Then he felt it: Setsuna's presence appearing out of nowhere. And he couldn't help but to smile. If Setsuna was indeed there, she would have no problems convincing the blonde. _Sigh... if I had known the stupid cocky Haruka Ten'ou would be my mission, I would never have agreed to it._ He thought to himself. But he knew it was no use: one did not simply say no to the Demon Lord.

* * *

"Father, you summoned me?" Damien asked.

"Yes. I saw the look in your eyes when you stood up for her. It's the same eyes I saw when Princess Sycorax died. You're starting to have feelings for the girl. That's dangerous." Lucius replied as he swirled his tea around.

"She's my daughter, after all." Damien answered cautiously.

"Damien, you know what's bound to happen, right? After she kills the King and Queen."

"Ye - Yes."

Lucius stared at his son closely. He had seen the look in his eyes, and the hesitation in his voice. _This is what I was afraid of. _"Good. Just as long as you haven't forgotten." He answered, dismissing his son.

* * *

_That's it for this chapter! :) _


	6. Chapter 6

Haruka was not a person of many words, neither was she one to speak her mind, choosing instead to keep most of her thoughts to herself. But after the lengthy discussion she had shared with Setsuna, her mind was in disarray, trying desperately to store all the information. And in doing so, she had absorbed a few very disturbing, and important points.

**Firstly, the future of the Moon Kingdom was in danger. **This could only have meant one thing, that somewhere along the lines, she had failed again. The first time she had failed, she allowed her Queen to come close to annihilation and possibly the destruction of the planet, something that she had never been able to get over. The second time, though admittedly she was on Earth and couldn't possibly guard the outside of the solar system, she had allowed HIM and his brothers to come close to her Queen, despite the many warnings she had given.

"It wasn't something we could have seen. They aren't aliens, they didn't enter from outside the Solar System. They're a completely different entity altogether. Even we wouldn't have been able to see them." Setsuna had said, in an effort to comfort her. But despite that, the blonde wasn't the least comforted. "They didn't enter from outside the Solar System... we wouldn't have been able to see them", the words were meaningless to her. She didn't care where the enemies were from: as long as the Moon Kingdom was in danger from outside forces, it was her responsibility.

**Secondly, that this was, for the first time, truly something only she could do. **True, she had always said that this was what she wanted, to accomplish something only she could do. But this time it was different.

"The entire fate of the Moon Kingdom lies on you." Setsuna had said in a grave tone. But Haruka didn't miss the way Setsuna had said 'you', and not 'us'. For years, they have protected the Solar System from their various posts, but they had always been working together, despite how far apart they were physically.

"Do I really have to do this?" She had asked Setsuna uncertainly, leaning against a wall for support while her mind continued to contemplate the possibilities.

"No. Everything, just like always, is a choice. You can choose not to." Setsuna replied knowingly, knowing the blonde wouldn't ever choose such an option. The blonde hated being controlled, being told what to do. And it didn't make matters worse that Seiya was here, but Setsuna knew the blonde well enough. No matter what she herself had to go through, she wasn't going to allow the Moon Kingdom to witness any danger.

**And lastly, that she was an accessory to whatever the Demon King was planning. **Setsuna had kept her information neutral as always, but Haruka was always one to spot the conspiracy in every plan, even if she said nothing about it.

"Why me?" she had asked herself more than anything. She wasn't one to wallow in her self-pity, but yet at this time, when everything seemed to be dependent on her and her alone, she couldn't help but to feel slightly pissed off with everything that was going on.

"The Guardians of Queen Serenity wouldn't be able to stand up against Queen Stella or King Phantos. They are of Angelic birth and wouldn't have the power to stand up against a pure Angel." Setsuna had started explaining. Haruka didn't really argue against it. The 4 Guardian Senshi were never meant to fight such a battle, and she wouldn't allow them to have to fight one as big as this.

"Saturn, Neptune and I are pure Angels, but just as King Lucius is able to control any being with demon blood in them, King Phantos and Queen Stella can control any Angels of pure angel bloodline." Setsuna ended abruptly. Haruka had sensed the pointedness in the older Senshi's voice, the way her voice had dropped slightly lower, her eyes staring into hers. So that explained it. She was the common denominator, a loophole that existed for the convenience of this plan.

"Do the Angels know about me?" she had asked.

"Yes and no. They are aware that Princes Sycorax gave birth to a child of Angel-Demon blood. But they are unaware of who the father is: they think that the father is a regular Demonic. As far as they're concerned you're not much of a threat to them." Setsuna had said before disappearing.

"Good to know." she replied. Deep down, she was in a state of chaos. True, the Outer Senshi had always operated alone, but she had always had Michiru by her side, for years and decades. And although she had to make some tough decisions in her life, Michiru had always stood by her side, silently accepting those decisions, knowing that she did so for a bigger purpose.

* * *

The moment Setsuna disappeared, Seiya slammed open the door, and dragged the blonde off. Haruka struggled, momentarily forgetting she barely had any energy left.

"Oi Kou! Let go of me!" She yelled. _It's not as though I can possibly escape anyway. _She thought to herself. Seiya ignored her, half-dragging, half-carrying the tall blonde into a suite. He pushed her in, and locked the door behind them.

"Look Ten'ou. I don't give a damn about how all this is affecting you. I've got a job to do and I'm going to do it."

"Oh look, the Almighty Seiya Kou has been reduced to nothing but a lapdog of a pervertic Demon Lord. What happened to your princess? Abandoned her for this male-harem? I'm sure Fighter's outfit must be get a lot of attention from these weirdos." Haruka said smoothly, a smile coming to her lips as she sat on the bed with her legs crossed, happily rubbing her wrists, glad to finally be free of the restraints.

Seiya's eyes darkened for a moment, before he replied with an equally venomous voice, "I'm here because of my Princess, just like you are."

"Bullshit. It took half an army to force me to come here, bound and somewhat manhandled. Clearly, you don't have the same privilege."

"You really think you know everything, don't you? For your information. This was the only way to save my Princess." Seiya found himself shouting. "She was dying, and Lord Damien gave us a way to save her. Our lives for hers. No different from how he managed to get you here. Your co-operation for your Princess's safety."

He took a breath to calm himself down, his eyes never leaving the blonde's, at the same time noticing how the blonde was smiling. Clearly, she was enjoying herself disturbing him.

Haruka watched him soundlessly. She then stood up, stretched and walked around. Suddenly, Damien appeared out of thin air.

"Like the room?" He asked, as Haruka jumped back, ready to defend herself. Damien stared at her, surprised. She wasn't supposed to be able to move, but yet the longer she was in the bracelets, he realised she was slowly regaining her strength.

"What?" Haruka asked, slightly annoyed at his stares.

"Seiya, go find Taiki for me." was the only thing he said. The young starlight nodded, and left the room silently, leaving the demon lord and his daughter alone.

"Have you decided?" he asked, sitting on the bed, his hands loosely folded across his chest. Haruka sighed, staring out through the open window, in a world of her own. The realm of darkness was nothing like she'd imagine it to be.

Outside the window, was a beautiful sunset, pink and orange merging into a medly of vibrant colors. Dark wings dotted the skies, flying to unknown destinations. For a moment she allowed her mind to wonder how it would be like to fly like them. She vaguely laughed at the thought of flying, of being closer to her element, with the wind in her ears as she played in their embrace.

She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't notice Damien walking up to her. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" He asked gently. She turned to him, shocked, but surprised at the misty look in his eyes. _He really loves this place_.

"We don't get much sun here. It's pretty much dawn to dusk to night." He explained, turning to look at her.

* * *

_She looks so much like Sy._ He thought to himself, feeling the remnants of a small pain in his heart surface. The way the sun carrassed her face, her blonde hair freely playing in the wind, to her teal green eyes that seemed to sparkle as she gazed into the horizon. Every part of her reminded him of Sy.

***Flashback***

He had first seen her as she descended from Aviane, bypassing Gremory as they landed on Neo. She was simply flying behind the rest of them, her white wings glistening as the sun enveloped them. Her sandy blonde hair shimmered, and her navy blue dress flowed in the wind.

For decades after that day, he continued watching her from above, silently watching as one by one the rest left their Queen's side and descended down to Earth, leaving only an aquamarine beauty and her to continue watching their Queen.

One day, he had decided, looking from afar was no longer enough. Without his father's permission (not that he needed it), he descended to Neo. Though it was not uncommon for demons and demonics to enter Neo, he decided to hide his wings, to draw less attention to himself.

He had spent an hour or so searching for her, and finally, he found her sitting on the top of a cliff, watching everything on Earth. Quietly, he sat down next to her, noticing her teal eyes scanning the earth below with a confused expression on her face.

"Who are you?" she asked, not tearing her eyes away from the planet below. Her voice was soft and gentle, like a calming breeze.

"I'm Damien." he said, noticing her eyes seemed furrowed, confused at the scene below her.

"I'm Sy." she said, her eyes trained on a particular scene below them. Damien looked at the direction she was staring at. A man was chasing a second man, who was holding a large sack of money. "I don't see what's so interesting about them."

"Huh?" Damien asked, confused.

"I don't see what's so interesting about them. They're just another species, not even a particularly good one. Always fighting, always raging war, always arguing with each other over small things like water, space or whatever." Sycorax explained.

"They're still young. They have much to learn. Every species has to make their own mistakes to grow and learn."

Haruka turned to stare at him, a suspicious look in her eye, but she seemed to wave it off. "You know, I've always thought that made a little sense. I don't see what's so special about these creatures that Sere- I mean, Neo-Queen Serenity risked everything to look after. But despite that, you have to admit that they're progressing. Though they really could do without all these wars."

That was how it all started. Every day after then, he would take some time off to travel down to Neo to visit her, and they would laugh and talk the night away, sitting together at the same spot that they had once met. But all this while, he had kept his identity a secret from her, not that she asked or questioned him about it. And deep down inside, it was killing him. So one day, he decided he was going to tell her the truth, and put everything on the line.

"Hey." He called, arriving behind her. She spun around, her dress bellowing gently in the wind as her now long sandy blonde hair played with the wind.

"Hey." she smiled, hugging him, her hands entwined in his as she leant her head on his shoulders, his arm protectively around her waist.

"Dearest, I've got something to tell you." he said, biting his lip, trying to stop the butterflies from exiting his stomach and coming up his throat. Sycorax raised her head to look at him, her beautiful green eyes staring into his crimson red ones. "There's something I haven't told you."

"What is it?" she asked, a curious voice as she smiled at him. He gently pulled her off him and stood up. Looking around to make sure no one was around, he closed his eyes.

Sycorax watched as a black light enveloped him, and three sets of black wings emerged from his back. When the black light disappeared, he stood in front of her, his black wings clashing with her white ones.

"I never properly introduced myself. My name is Damien Sinclair, son of Lucius Sinclair." He said nervously, staring at her, waiting for a reaction. As an Angel, she would definitely have known the notoriority of the name Sinclair. He had been around her everyday for so long that they had both lost track of time, and he could read her perfectly, knowing when she was happy, when she was upset, and when she was confused. But this face confused him: there was no anger in her eyes, as she continued to stare blankly at him. With a wave of his fingers, he re-hid his wings and knelt down next to her, a hand on her face.

"Sy..." he started, somewhat comforted by the fact that she had not pulled away. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you."

And then, surprisingly, she smiled. "Damien. You taught me that humans needed to make mistakes to learn what is right. Perhaps, so do Angels. We have spent years in a protected state of peace, and have become somewhat blinded by everything that is going on. I'm starting to understand Neo-Queen Serenity's point of view, that perhaps these humans are learning something we Angels haven't had the chance to learn. This is what Neo-Queen Serenity saw in them.

I've always known there was something different about you. The way you spoke, as though you knew something we didn't, as though there was some big secret you were not allowed to tell." She laughed as she pulled him closer to her.

***End of Flashback***

"Sir." came a call from the other door. He turned around to see Seiya and Taiki standing at the doorway.

"The alien brought friends." Haruka said. Taiki glanced at Haruka, a look of indifference on his eyes. Clearly, Seiya had warned Taiki about her presence here.

Damien ignored Haruka, and signalled Taiki forward. Taiki nodded, and brought his equipment along with him. He scanned the bracelets quickly, Seiya watching her closely. Taiki then set up his computer and typed furiously for a moment while the rest waited in silence. Taiki then stood up, and stood behind Damien.

"Sir, the bracelets were originally meant for rogue demonics. They were not meant to control the power of a pure Demon, much less one of her calibre. Though they would drain her energy when first worn, it seems they aren't able to control her power as the time passes. The longer she wears them, the more useless it is bound to become. I would suggest you may as well remove them. She may be aware of this as well, that her strength is slowly coming back. The bracelets serve no purpose to you or to her any longer." he said in a whisper so that only the two could hear. Damien nodded.

"Ms Ten'ou, you haven't answered my question." Haruka turned around to look at him. While they had stood side by side for that few minutes, she had seen something in his eyes. The same look he had when he stopped Lucius earlier that day, the same look he had whenever he talked about Princess Sycorax.

She contemplated for a moment, knowing that she didn't have much of her choice. Since as long as she could remember, she had one mission: to look after her Princess and the future of the Moon Kingdom, and everyone that knew Haruka knew one thing. Ten'ou Haruka prided her mission above everything else: above her pride, above her heart, and above her life.

"I'm in." she said bitterly. "As long as you promise me the safety of my princess and her court. I'll help."

Damien nodded, and gestured Taiki forward. In one swift movement, he removed her bracelets, and Haruka flexed her wrists. With lightning speed, she charged at Seiya, grabbing him by the collar and pinning him against the wall.

"If you EVER come as close to me as this again, I'll tear your stupid wings apart and kick you back to whatever weirdo hybrid planet you came from." She growled, before releasing his collar. Damien chuckled. _She may look like Sy, but her character is completely like mine._ He stepped up to her.

"This will be your room for now. Get a good night rest. I don't think the bed in the prison cell was a good place to sleep." He said as he left, waving as he did so. "Seiya, watch her. You'll be her partner from now on."

"WHAT?!" Both yelled. Taiki took this as a sign to take his leave, walking out after Damien, leaving the blonde and the raven-haired starlight staring at each other, sparks flying.

"Great. Just great. Trust the demon king to know how to best torture a person." Haruka mumbled as she plopped herself on the bed.


	7. Chapter 7

He sat at his desk, his long black nails musically tapping against the wooden table in front of him, deep in thought. In front of him was a set of papers that reminded him of the plan that he had painstakingly spent centuries formulating. A dark smile formed on his face as the memory of the night that started the gears shifting, preparing for this day, floated to his mind.

* * *

He was sitting opposite Damien, both eating their dinner silently, watching as a flaming candle stood, flickering in between them. As he picked a small piece of meat with his fork, a clap of thunder struck the dining room, and 2 of the most unlikely people stood in front of him. Instantly, his gaze darkened. Whenever these 2 appeared together, nothing good was to come out of it.

Despite the years since he had been banished with his clan of demons, he still recognized those faces. Back before Heaven had been split, these 2 were responsible for looking after the future safety of Heaven and the Solar System. But ever since King Phantos and Queen Stella split Heaven into 3 layers, he had not seen these 2: who had been clearly given the power to bypass the rules that limited the 3 layers to each other.

"Princesses." He said, with a nod of his head as he stood up to welcome them. Sailor Pluto and Sailor Saturn nodded, their hands gripped around their stuff, a frown on both their faces as they looked around.

"King Lucius. There is something we need to talk about. Would you prefer somewhere more private?" Pluto asked, her magenta eyes emotionless as she spoke, an icy chill in her voice.

Lucius snapped his fingers, and instantly his winged bodyguards turned around and disappeared, leaving Lucius and Damien alone. Lucius waved for them to take a seat, as they sat around the table. Lucius studied the stonic expression on both Senshi's faces, a bad feeling crawling up his esophagus.

"Esteemed Guardian of the Afterlife, Mei'ou Setsuna, and Guardian of Ressurection Tomoe Hotaru, what brings you to Gremory Castle?" He asked.

"Grave news, I'm afraid. You know as well as I do, that while King Phantos and Queen Stella have no ruling over Gremory, we have come to inform you of a sin that has been committed by one of yours." Pluto started.

"A sin to the Court of 8 may not necessarily be a real sin." King Lucius replied neutrally. "Nonetheless, I'm curious as to know what this sin is."

"After Queen Stella sent us down to Neo to watch over Neo-Queen Serenity, 4 of us remained in Neo, never descending to Earth. And while it is not against the rules, one of us has created a taboo, even amongst our realm. One of the Court of 8, is pregnant with the child of one of your Demonics." Saturn continued.

A clatter of silverware echoed through the room as Damien dropped his fork. Lucius turned to stare at his son, surprised by his son's sudden reaction.

"And?" Lucius prompted.

"Well, though it isn't against the rules, after the splitting of Angels from Demons, and after adapting and evolving, though we come from the same ancestral line, we are no longer the same race. The creation of a child that is of Angel and Demonic ancestry is unheard of."

"Are you here on orders of Queen Stella?" Lucius asked, eyeing them.

"No. Our job now is to watch over Neo-Queen Serenity. Queen Stella and King Phantos will elect a new Court to serve them. We are here only because this will eventually effect Neo-Queen Serenity's realm in the future. Anyway, we are only here to inform you of such an incident. With the complexity of Angel and Demonic blood, there is a chance the child will not be born." Saturn replied.

"I'm sure the fact that you're here suggests that the child is of some concern."

"As the Guardian of Time, the timelines aren't always fixed. Sure, some incidents are bound to happen, things that will happen whether or not we meddle. But this is one of those things where there are more than 1 possible variable in the outcome.

Firstly, there's the 'Opposite Cancellation' theory. When opposites collide, they cancel each other out. There is a chance that the Angel blood and Demonic blood will cancel each other out, and the child will never be born.

Even if the child is born, there is also a generic issue. Just like the genes of humans on Earth, the child may not inherit the Demonic blood, but inherit the human blood instead, making the child an Angelic." said Pluto.

"And what exactly do you want me to do about it?"

"To find out more about this situation, we need to find the father of the child. Princess Sycorax has refused to divulge the name of the father of the child, which is why we're here in the first place."

"I believe the identity of the father is a privilege between Princess Sycorax and whoever this Demonic is. This is exactly what I meant. Angels have been given a privileged life of a decision-less life, and they have a very clear distinction between black and white, right and wrong. But what happens about those shades of grey? I told this same thing to King Phantos those years ago. You needed to let humans make their own mistakes, just like you need to let your Angels make their own mistakes.

If Queen Stella had never banished Serenity to Earth all those years ago for a mistake that she hadn't made then, in an attempt to solve the problem before it became a problem, then no one would have followed her footsteps. No one would have rebelled, and Angelics would probably have never been born. All this has happened because Queen Stella tried to fix an issue before it became one.

I am not going to pressure my Demonic to come up and show himself just because you say so. Whatever will happen, will happen." King Lucius said.

Saturn stood up, branishing her glaive angrily. "You have no idea what it's like to watch everything and be unable to do anything. Don't you - "

"Saturn." Pluto warned, shaking her head slightly. Saturn lowered her glaive, but continued to stare at King Lucius angrily, her purple eyes mad with hatred.

"What? We came to assist, but all he's trying to do is - "

"Bullshit. You didn't come to assist. You came because the child is of your concern. If you just came to assist, Saturn wouldn't be here." Lucius leant back, arms crossed at his chest, a smile creeping up his face.

Saturn froze, her eyes narrowing. "Saturn. There's nothing more we can do here. Let's go." Pluto said, standing up, noticing the young Senshi was dangerously close to doing something unpredictable. Saturn nodded, biting her lip to prevent herself from saying anything else. Both Senshi turned around, and disappeared.

Lucius picked up his fork, and took two more bites of his food, before turning to Damien.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" He asked knowingly, watching Damien's face turn whiter.

* * *

That was how it all started, with Damien admitting that he had been going out with Princess Sycorax. Damien had enthusiastically talked about how they had met, how he had admitted to her who he was, and how perfect she was.

He watched his son with interest as Damien animatedly talked about Princess Sycorax, about her melodious laugh and the soft scent of roses that seemed to envelop her as she lay in his arms. He saw the spark in Damien's crimson eyes, and knew instantly that he was completely and utterly, honestly in love with the Uranian Princess.

Love was something Lucius never experienced. True, he had a wife, and he had a son, to both which Lucius was fond of, but even the Demon King did not think it was love. A companion, maybe even a best friend, but definitely not someone he couldn't do without.

"Father, she's amazing. She truly is. I have to go see her." Damien was saying. Lucius nodded wordlessly, finished his meal, and left. It wasn't until after Damien had descended to Neo, that it had dawned on Lucius.

Firstly, that there was no chance the girl would just be an Angelic. With Damien being a pure blooded Demon, the child, if he was born, was definitely going to be a taboo child.

Secondly, that this child would be able to bypass all the rules set on the boundaries of Aviane and Gremory.

"If this child truly exists, when the time was right, he could prove useful to me." And with that, a dark plan started formulating in Lucius' head, a plan that he was very careful to keep from Damien.

* * *

But what happened next was something even Lucius would not have imagined. A few hours later, Damien stormed back in the castle, his crimson eyes stonic, tears threatening to fall. A worried Princess Sycorax had said that it was impossible for them to continue seeing each other, about how she did not know what she was going to do with the child. Damien had offered to take the child off her hands after birth, but she had shook her head.

"We don't know if the child will grow to have Angel or Demon wings. We can't just decide. I'm sorry, you know I don't want to do this. But if we continue seeing each other and Neo-Queen Serenity or Queen Stella finds out, the child's life could be in danger." And so Damien had hugged her, and the two left each other's side.

From that moment on, Damien continued to watch from above as he used to, watched her get beautifully pregnant, and eventually give birth to a beautiful female child. He couldn't help but to smile, wishing he could be closer to her, to touch her, but he knew it was a bad idea. Her life depended on him staying away from her, at least till she grew her wings. Secretly, he wished she would grow black wings, so that at least he would have an excuse to see her. And so he continued to wait.

But that moment never came. He watched from afar as the little girl grew up. She was clearly different from the rest of the children of the Court of 8. Where the Angelic children of Princesses Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus, and Neo-Queen Serenity were wilful, childish, and even naive, the children of Angels Sycorax and Poseidon were strong-willed, protective, and kept to themselves. But even then, she was different.

Where the other Princesses played with music, books, fashion and dresses, Princess Sycorax's daughter did nothing of the sort. She was obssessed with speed, constantly racing her slower counterparts around the castle, and spent hours looking at the sky at night.

When the child turned 17, the Angelic War broke out, Angelic against Angelic as they fought each other for some mindless reasons only understood by them. The Court of 8 defended Neo-Queen Serenity fiercely, fighting off the Angelics that threatened to overthrow the palace.

Damien had watched as the Court of 8 combined their powers, allowing themselves to be destroyed as they summoned all their strength to do one last deed: to send the 7 children for rebirth and reawakening down on Earth. The Court of 8 had previously agreed, that if any danger should happen to their children, the 5 Angelic children, Usagi, Minako, Rei, Makoto and Ami would be reborn on Earth, with no memory of their lives on Neo. Setsuna was to return to her timegates to find a suitable time to awaken Hotaru, Haruka and Michiru.

(AN: there's a difference between reawaken and rebirth. Rebirth would be to be reborn, starting life again at a young age. Rebirth is to be frozen in time, in their current bodies, till the time is right for them to be awoken, in a different age. Hope that helps).

He watched as Princess Sycorax fell, as the child he had helped conceive to glowed a beautiful gold, before she disappeared.

"I will find you, my princess." He promised himself.

* * *

King Lucius smiled. He had known that Damien was completely in love with Princess Sycorax, and had allowed it to go on. Even after her death, Damien had never forgotten her, and on certain dark nights he knew his son would go back down to the Angelic Realm, just to sit at the same spot where he and Sycorax first met, a time where everything had been perfect. Lucius was aware that Damien dreamt of her every night, and none of Damien's 3 wives had been able to help him forget her. Not that it was possible: all of Damien's wives resembled Princess Sycorax, with long sandy blonde hair and bright green eyes that he had loved so much.

As the years went by, his plan slowly fell into place. When he issued the order to search for Angel Sycorax's child, Damien was more than happy to oblige. Damien was fully aware of the evil plan his father was scheming, but truth be told he didn't mind one bit: as long as it brought his daughter to him, even if she was unwilling, any part of Sy by his side was enough for him.

* * *

Seiya sat at a corner of the room, a book in his hand that served more as an excuse to not say anything to the blonde. He watched silently, over the rim of his book, as Haruka walked to the balcony. It had been 2 days since they removed her bracelets, and even he could sense her powers coming back to her. But all she had done was spend 2 days sitting at the balcony, watching the skies. He suspected that she was, just like him, finding something to do that would serve to distract themselves from the fact that they were in the same room.

A knock on the door sounded, before Damien pushed it open, easily stepping in and shutting the door behind her. He stood there silently as Seiya jumped out of his seat, but the blonde did nothing to even suggest she knew he was standing behind her.

"We have work to do. Let's go." Damien said, watching the pink skies reflected in her green eyes as she turned to look at him. She nodded, and followed Damien, Seiya trailing behind them.

"It's time to test your strength. We're going to put you up against some fighters, and see how you do before we determine how much training you need to do." Damien explained as they headed off to where Seiya recognized was the training room.

Inside the dimly lit room, stood 15 men. Haruka's eyes narrowed. She recognized 4 of them as the ones that had unceremoniously dragged her out of her cell a few days earlier. Her fists clenched as a sinister smile emerged from her face, the first true smile she had allowed in days.

"You know she's going to completely enjoy herself doing this, right?" Seiya asked Damien quietly, so that only Damien could hear. Damien smiled and nodded back, "We're asking a lot from her, it's only fair we give her a treat."

"Ok. They've been given their orders. It's a progressive sort of training. We'll just keep going until you reach the end. No rules, no limits." Damien said to Haruka. Haruka nodded, and closed her eyes for a second.

A bright light burst from within her, and when the light disappeared, Sailor Uranus stood before them, clad in her navy blue heeled ankle boots, white gloves, her cobalt blue and gold sailor fuku snugly hugging her body.

Playful bright green eyes opened, and she stretched her fingers happily, feeling the warm embrace of her Uranian power within her. A sadistic smile formed on her face as she surveyed the number of people in front of her.

"You once said you were insulted I thought Seiya was enough to subdue you." Damien said, an identical smile on his face, knowing this would no doubt trigger a response from the blonde.

"Yeah." She said, a somewhat eager look on her face emerged. Damien clapped his hands as two of them came forward. As the fight started, Damien watched closely. She was clearly faster than any of his Demonic Army, even faster than the leader Yasel. None of them could catch up to her pace, and he had a feeling she was toying with them. Every time they sped up, so did she. She was always one step in front of them.

Not only that, she was smart, and she was strong. Observing her enemies for a few moments gave her a general idea of how they fought, where their weakness was, and how to make use of it. It didn't matter if they fought together or alone, none of them were a match for Sailor Uranus.

A gruelling 2 hours later, the exercise was concluded. Uranus stood at a corner, leaning against a wall for support as she watched the bodies spawled on the floor. Other than a few scratches and light cuts on her legs and arms, she was perfectly fine.

"I know I said no limits, but damn." Damien whistled as he checked on a few of those nearer to them. They weren't dead, but they sure weren't going to retaliate any time soon.

"She was holding back." Seiya commented. Uranus growled at him. She was tired, it had been awhile since she fought like that, and it was wearing her out.

"Oh yeah? You wanna try me, Kou?" she muttered under her breath, and turned away.

"Sure." came a familiar voice. Uranus turned back to see Fighter standing in front of her, a cocky smile on her face, midnight blue eyes gleaming, accepting the challenge. Uranus smirked as she forced herself off the wall. As tired as she was, she could definitely still deal with one annoying starlight.

"Now that's more like it." With that she jumped forward as Fighter lunged at her, fists raised. Uranus easily avoided Fighter's attack, grabbing Fighter's fist in her own. She looked at Fighter, only to be surprised to see a smirk on the Starlight's face.

"Star Serious Laser!" yelled Fighter, and before Uranus could do anything about it, a beam of light shot out from Fighter's fist, hitting Uranus square in the chest. She flew in the air, and landed on the floor a few meters away. Coughing, she stood up.

"Not bad. You've improved, Kou. I admit I underestimated you." Uranus called back. Fighter had barely enough time to register the smirk that had returned on Uranus' face, before Uranus vanished. A fist came crashing into his somach as Uranus appeared before her.

"What the hell?" She screamed as she pulled herself off the floor.

"Just because you've been on the receiving end once, doesn't mean I've shown you everything I can do. You're talking to a Senshi who's been fighting longer than you've lived." Uranus laughed.

Fighter growled and launched herself again at Uranus, but -

"Okay. That's enough." Damien waved Seiya off, who nodded and detransformed. Uranus relaxed, and at that moment, Damien vanished, only to appear behind her, twisting both arms behind her, forcing her down on her knees.

"Rule number 1. Don't trust anyone, not even Angels. Just because they say its over doesn't mean you can let your guard down." Suddenly, a bright light caught his eye. He jumped back, avoiding Sailor Uranus' World Shaking just in time. Uranus took that chance, grabbing her sword, and swung it at Damien. The sword cut a shallow wound in Damien's thigh, before he jumped back again to avoid it.

"Not bad." Damien said, surveying the wound. "No one has ever been able to land a flesh wound on me. You okay?"

"There's a first for everything." Haruka replied, as Damien sat down next to her, watching her instead. She looked fine, a little bruised up, but the proud air never left her.

"Like father, like daughter. In terms of attitude, she's exactly like me." Damien thought to himself.

* * *

Lucius read the report. He was surprised to find out that Haruka had managed to defeat the top 15 of his army easily. But at the same time, he was worried. Lucius was not a man to trust anyone other than himself. Massaging his forehead, he summoned Taiki and Yaten to his room.

"King Lucius." Both kneeled as they approached the King. Lucius waved his hand, and gestured them to stand.

"Kou Taiki and Kou Yaten, brother of Kou Seiya, from the Kinmoku Nebula." It was a statement, not a question.

"I have summoned you here because I have a job for you. Taiki, as our key inventor, I need you to create another bracelet for Damien's spawn. Make sure it can withstand her power and strength." Taiki nodded. It wasn't a hard request, though Taiki was a little worried. Though he had nothing against the blonde, he did not like the idea of using the technology to control her. He had mentioned to Damien and Lucius that the technology could not be used all the time, and that it may cause some side-effects to the user. But clearly, Lucius was not asking a question, he was demanding it be done.

"Yaten, I want you to head back to Earth and bring me back the Moon Princess."

"But - " Yaten started, confused. Seiya had told him about everything that he had found out. According to what Seiya had said, Haruka was doing all these for the safety of the Moon Princess. Lucius turned to stare at Yaten, glowering over him as Yaten shrunk back.

"You may have heard that our darling... _Princess_ is working with us to protect the Moon Kingdom. Whatever the reason she chooses to stay is her choice. We have no obligation to play along with her. Furthermore, with the Moon Princess in our hands, she will be more willing to help us, and we'll be able to control her easily."

"Sir. If I may. Ten'ou Haruka isn't exactly the kind of girl you can just control. She is very proud, and she will stick to her beliefs even if it kills her. You may think she's working with you now, but she has a tendency of flipping the script at the last moment."

"Which is exactly why I want the Moon Princess here. If possible, bring her whole Court. Ah. Damien. You're on time." Lucius turned to his son as Damien tried to hide a skeptical face. "I have just asked Taiki to create a higher powered bracelet, and Yaten to bring her friends to us."

"But Father you - " Damien protested, but Lucius cut him off.

"Damien. I know of your feelings for the child. I can see it in your eyes. But you're forgetting the plan."

"Father. Please. We can do without her. We can succeed without her doing it. I'll take her place." Damien pleaded. "I can't let this happen to her. Not now. She's the only thing left that reminds me of Sy."

"No. You know as well as I do she was chosen for a reason. She is the only one that can kill Queen Serenity and King Phantos."

"But Father. If she kills them, then - "

"Yes. When she kills them, she will die. She will lose her Angel status and die along with them. You knew that." Lucius whispered, raising an eyebrow as he watched his son fight with the desperate attempt to save his daughter, and the willingness to complete his mission.

"Father, she's my daughter. I can't - " Damien started, but Lucius spun around, grabbing his son by the shoulder.

"You can have another spawn with your other wives. This girl's life is mine. I saved her, all those years ago, when I didn't expose you. Her life belongs to me. This girl will die." Lucius said roughly, shaking Damien slightly. Damien blinked, and nodded, his body slack.

"Yes sir."

Yaten and Taiki stole a glance at each other. Both of them knew that they were not meant to hear this. They honestly didn't know what to think about it. Ten'ou Haruka was by no means the Senshi they wanted to help the most. But still, she was a part of Queen Serenity's Court, who Seiya had promised to protect.

And now, they had two decisions to make. Firstly, whether they were going to tell Seiya what they had just heard. And secondly, whether they were going to do anything to save Haruka. And knowing Haruka, who would resist all forms of help from them in the first place. And by doing so, they would be certain to endanger their own princess's lives, whom they were protecting by serving King Lucius. So the biggest question was... Queen Serenity, or Princess Kakyuu. Who were they going to risk losing?


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the lack of updates on both stories! It's been a busy 2013, and i've been hella busy with a lot of things. :) I havent abandoned the stories, so don't abandon me, okay? :p to those who are reading WBMW I'll probably post the next chapter by this week, it's half done! :)

* * *

Damien had a sleepless night. He had always known that this was going to be how everything was supposed to be: even Setsuna had assured him that this was the best way for everyone. And before he had met her, he had been okay with that decision. But after watching her and being around her for the past few days, he couldn't go ahead with it. Maybe if she was different, if she did not remind him of Sy as much as she did, maybe he could have gone ahead with it. But not now.

After being around her, he researched into her past, and the more he watched her past, the more he was reminded of how she was the one thing that proved Angel Sycorax and himself had a past together.

She had the heart of an Angel, the heart of a person who sacrificed her own freedom and her choices for her destiny. He wasn't sure if it was because she was his daughter, or because he was starting to understand her. But he had seen it in her eyes, the same look that Princess Sycorax once had when he first met. She had lived in the past, protecting and watching over Crystal Tokyo, and she had failed in her 1 mission. And when she was reawoken on Earth, she was given her memories back, and despite how much she didn't understand, she continued to fight for the people that did not seem to understand how hard a position she and her partner were in.

But despite that, she did not have the mindset of an Angel. She had the mindset of a Demon who had seen many battles and pains. She did not merely accept things for what they were, thinking that a miracle could happen. She knew that sacrifices had to be made, and she had chosen to make them, even if it meant staining her hands with blood. She did not care if her Princess hated her, or if they never understood, as long as she understood what she was doing was the right thing to do.

She was, a complete mix of Angel Sycorax and himself: her ideals and his blended together to form this strong individual that would not let anyone get in her way.

"Ahhh what the hell." He thought to himself as he quickly got dressed and headed to her room. When he pushed open the door, he saw Seiya sitting at the usual desk, doing his work. Tapping Seiya on the shoulder, he sat down next to Seiya.

"Does she always do that?" He asked, gesturing to the balcony. He knew she was there, barely hidden behind the curtains. Seiya turned to look at him, a strange look on his face. This was the first time the Demon Lord had spoken to him like that, as though they were equals.

"Yeah. She sits there for the entire day, until she eventually falls asleep." Seiya replied, unsure what the Demon Lord was trying to ask.

But Damien merely nodded, a small gentle smile appearing on his face.

"Seiya, why don't you go back for the day. Get some rest. I'll watch her." He said quietly, never tearing his eyes off the blonde. He had half expected Seiya to question him, but the raven-haired demonic did nothing of the sort. Instead, he simply nodded, and took his leave.

Damien made his way to the spacious balcony, and sat down next to the sleeping blonde behind a wall panel. Her legs stretched out on the ledge, her head resting comfortably against the back of the chair. Her hair blew gently in the night wind.

_Her hair wildly blowing in the soft breeze, eyes closed as she lay on his lap, her dark blue gown fluttering around around her body. He loved watching her rouse from her sleep, opening her perfect emerald green eyes as a sweet smile erupted from her face when her eyes met his._

For a moment, his mind wondered back to his memories, and in that moment, he had seen Sycorax in Haruka. Instinctively, his hand reached over to touch her, but before he could even come close to her, a hand gripped his wrist.

He looked up, only to see a pair of angry green eyes staring at him.

"I'm sorry." He said immediately, pulling his hand back. Haruka released her grip on his wrist, but the green eyes staring at softened, surprised. _He's sorry? _

"It's just... you look a lot like her." Damien finally said, not being able to control himself any further. _I don't have much time left with her. There's no longer a point in trying to play the part of the Devil's Advocate_.

Curious eyes stared back at him. "Did you really care about her?" she finally asked. Damien blinked. This was the first time she had shown a genuine interest in what he had to say.

"Of course. She means more to me than anything in the world. Even now."

Haruka set in silence, contemplating his answer. There was something different about him today. All the previous times he had spoken to her, he had treated her coldly, distancing himself from her as much as he could. But today, here he was, volunteering answers on his own.

"She had a thing for heights too." Damien said, more to himself than anything. _She loved to sit by the cliff, watching everything below, a strong wind blowing past her body. _He had always loved watching her there, not only because that was the place they first met, but also because she looked more at peace there than she did anywhere else.

"Huh?" was the only response that Haruka managed to give.

"Just like you. She used to have a favourite spot on a cliff, sitting there alone watching the skies and everything below." Damien explained. Haruka allowed a small smile to slip unto her face. She stood up and stretched, leaning against the balcony ledge.

"I'm not so sure about her, but for me it's not about height. The wind and sky calms me down. It helps - " Haruka started, but a small POOF sound interrupted her thoughts. She turned around, and instantly, the momentary softness in her hardened.

"Doesn't anyone KNOCK these days?" she muttered irritably. Yasel stood in the middle of her room, surveying the room with a clear distaste on his face. Haruka's eyes narrowed, and she let out a small scowl.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Haruka asked, her voice burning like acid.

Yasel turned to face her, his eyes sweeping her whole being, watching her carefully, calculating.

"Where's Kou?" he finally asked, not bothering to keep the menace out of her voice. Haruka stepped forward, her piercing green eyes trained on the demonic in front of her.

"Like hell I know. What do I look like, his babysitter?" She asked, making a move to walk past him. In a swift movement, Yasel made a move to grab her by the shoulder. With demon-like reflexes, she grabbed his arm with one hand, and roughly flung his arm away from her.

"So much for the _invincible _Demonic Army. If Damien had not stopped the battle the first time, I would have gotten rid of all of you." Haruka said, a cocky grin on her face as she stuffed her hands into her pockets.

Damien heard every single word she said, and he couldn't help but to smile. The way she had said his name, with a voice that reminded him of Sycorax, drove a shiver down his spine. But her voice was the only thing that was similar to Sycorax. The coldness in her voice and the cocky attitude was something that Sycorax never had: that was all him, and somewhat it made him glow with pride.

"Just because you're Lord Damien's spawnling, doesn't make you a Princess in my eyes." Yasel growled.

"Who the hell wants to be your damn Princess. Besides, if this is the way you treat your princesses, I feel sorry for Damien's other children." Haruka smirked, clearly pleased with the reaction she had gotten from Yasel.

Yasel made a grab for Haruka's shirt collar, but the Wind Senshi ducked, easily avoided his swipe. Yasel slammed his other hand upwards, and Haruka barely managed to stifle a yelp as his fist connected with her jaw with a resounding thud.

"What insolence! You will address him as Lord Damien as long as you're in Gremory. Lord Damien has no children and I don't think - " What Yasel thought of Haruka was left in the dark, as Yasel's eyes widened, his eyes staring at something behind Haruka,.

"I do have 1 child, and she can address me however she wishes." Damien said, stepping out of the shadows. Yasel immediately fell to his knees. Haruka massaged her jaw numbly as a triumphant smile emerged on her face. Damien glanced at her, one questionable eyebrow raised, but turned back to Yasel, glaring at the Demonic.

Damien bent down, so he was face to face with the kneeling Demonic. A dark aura surrounded his body, his long crimson hair whipping around his body, black wings flared. Damien's crimson eyes turned a sharp yellow, as he reached his longer, thin fingers, towards the Demonic. Upon contact with the Demonic's shoulder, Yasel screamed, a scream so horrible that even Haruka winced and looked away.

"If you dare to raise even one hand on her without permission again I will personally make your life a living hell, literally." Damien whispered, his voice dripping with contempt as he let go of the Demonic and stood up, turning to face Haruka. He closed his eyes for a moment, and the dark aura surrounding him vanished. When he opened his eyes again, they were the same crimson as they always had been.

"What the hell are you still doing here? Get lost." He said to Yasel, an emotionless gaze on the heavily breathing Demonic as Yasel nodded and vanished.

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Damien said in a soft whisper. Haruka shook her head, her hand running through her hair. In her life, she had seen many things that confused her. Confusion and surprise were two things that Haruka never liked, and very little incidents had occured that Haruka could honestly say she was surprised by.

She thought back vaguely, to the first time she had fought alongside Sailor Moon. She had been confused by the young blonde's affection for people, and her resolute for not allowing anyone to get hurt, enemy or friend alike. And for many times after that, the young blonde continued to surprise her, her boundless love bringing out the best in even her enemies. It was the young blonde's love and faith that won her over eventually.

And this feeling was no different from then. Damien was an enemy, that much she was certain. It just so happened that this time, for the first time, the enemy had a similar goal as her. _That doesn't make us allies._ Haruka thought to herself. But deep down inside she knew. Haruka was never one to doubt herself: she believed in her job and her life 100%. The fact that she was now arguing with her conscience about whether or not she should trust the Demon Prince standing in front of her was already a sign that showed that she was wavering: and somehow the Demon Prince was doing what she thought only her Princess was capable of doing: breaking down the cold borders around her.

There was something strange about Damien. After years of being around different sorts of people, Haruka had grown to understand and read people well, especially since she did not do much talking, allowing their body actions to tell her exactly what they thought better than their words could. She had been curious about Damien from the first time she had set eyes on him, the arrogant way he acted when he had first met her. He was completely uninterested in her, uncaring in what happened to her as long as his job was complete. That was all she was to him: a job that he resented doing, but did anyway because he knew it had to be done.

And then she met Lucius, and everything changed. Not only did Haruka understand easily that Lucius was clearly the one pulling the strings behind the whole operation, she also started to see a different side of Damien on the same day. He didn't have to stop Lucius from hurting her, but he did anyway. That was the first time Damien had shown some true form of interest or concern in her. And since then, it seemed to her that he was in some form of internal struggle to figure out what his position should be.

What's going through his mind, and why the sudden change in attitude?

Haruka thought to herself, but out loud all she said was, "It's okay."

* * *

Seiya lay down on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, thankful to have a day off from babysitting the blonde. Damien had given him the day off, without giving him an explanation as to why he was being unceremoniously dismissed from his job.

"Seiya! OI SEIYA!" came a loud voice from the other end of the house. Seiya set up from his bed, ruffling his hair. Yaten sure had a way to destroy what had started out as a very promising morning.

"What is it?!" Seiya half-yelled as he stormed out of his bedroom. But upon seeing the identical looks of confusion on both his brothers' faces, the anger disappeared. "What is it?" He asked again.

"Lucius summoned us yesterday." Taiki started.

"And?" He asked, knowing the older Starlight wouldn't say such things at random unless it was to make a serious point.

"He wants me to redesign the bracelets for _her _use." Taiki said simply. Seiya stared at Taiki, a confused expression on his face. There was no doubt in either brothers' mind who the "her" was.

"But Damien - "

Taiki cast a dark look at Yaten, who shook his head.

"Damien and Lucius aren't on the same page. Damien made all those promises to us, to Ten'ou, and who knows how many others. From what we overheard, Damien never meant to break any of them. But Lucius has no intention to keep to Damien's word. He's asked me to head back down to bring him the Moon Princess and the rest of her Court."

Seiya spun around to face the silver-haired starlight, who looked at him with serious lime green eyes.

"I've got to tell her." was the first words that came out of Seiya's mouth. Admittedly, he never really liked the blonde, and being around her so often the past few days did nothing to nullify those feelings. She was still as irritating, just as arrogant as she always was.

But there was one thing both of them had in common. For years, they had only 1 mission: to protect their Princess, and Haruka and Seiya both took that mission with utmost seriousness: their Princesses were more important to them than anything else. For Princess Kakyuu, he had agreed to give up his life for a lifetime of servitude. And for Queen Serenity, Haruka had agreed to exile herself away from her comrades and friends. He knew that no matter how much she hated him, and how much he hated her, one thing was clear: their Princess's lives would never ben endangered just because of their hatred for each other.

"Wait." Yaten said, grabbing Seiya's arm as he made he way out.

"You know what they want her to do, right?" Taiki asked. Seiya nodded mutely. "From what I understand, when an Angel kills another Angel, the murderer loses her Angel status immediately and her soul is condemned to death."

Seiya's eyes widened as he stared at Taiki. If it were anyone else telling him that, he would have laughed it off as a cruel joke, but he knew Taiki better than that. Taiki was never one to joke about things like this.

"She's going to die, Seiya. Whether she knows about it or not." Yaten said, as he closed the door behind him. Seiya nodded. He understood. He hated it, but he knew what the other two were telling him.

If Haruka co-operated with Damien and Lucius, she was going to die. It didn't matter if she knew, at this point. Seiya knew that. Haruka had proven on many occasions that she would gladly give her life for her Princess. Knowing wouldn't have changed the blonde's decision either way: Queen Serenity's life was way more important than her own.

If she did not co-operate, she would risk her Princess's life. And there was no way Haruka would risk that happening.

And if he tried to do something about it, he may endanger not only Queen Serenity's life, but also Princess Kakyuu's. And that would be something his brothers and Haruka, and himself for that matter, would not let happen.

He vaguely thought back to Setsuna, and wondered what the Keeper of TIme would have told Haruka that caused her to agree to work with Damien. But he knew there was no point in asking. Both Haruka and Setsuna wouldn't say anything, much less to him.

"I got to get going. Seiya, be careful what you say to her." Yaten asked pointedly. Seiya nodded his head and waved Yaten away. He watched as Yaten walked out of the door.

* * *

The next day Seiya returned to his post, only to be more confused than ever. He watched as the blonde continued sitting at the balcony, silently watching the skies. He had spent a sleepless night wondering if he should say anything to her, but he knew it would be pointless. Taiki would be arriving soon with the bracelets, and by the time that happened, even if she found out the truth, it would be too late.

Seiya wondered to himself, if it were him in this situation, would he have preferred to know that his Princess was still in danger. But it wasn't a question he could answer. There were so many factors to consider when it came to this situation that it gave him a headache thinking about it.

"What the hell are you staring at me for?" Haruka snarled. Seiya snapped out of his daze. He had not realized that while he was deep in thought, he was absent-mindedly staring at the blonde as she made her way to the pantry.

"Who the hell would want to stare at you, Ten'ou?" The words were out of his mouth before he knew it.

"Real witty, Kou. Couldn't come up with something better? You haven't changed a bit since Earth. Still just as weak as ever." she shot back sarcastically as his eyes narrowed.

"Back then, I was on your territory, and you made my life hell. Well, guess what, this is my territory now." Seiya stood up, and stepped up to face her. A sinister grin appeared across Haruka's face.

"Have you forgotten who I am? As the idiot demonic leader mentioned yesterday, I am the spawnling of your Demon Lord. Even if not for that, you need me. If something were to happen to me, your plans are screwed. As far as I'm concerned, you're still in my territory, Kou." Haruka laughed as Seiya grabbed her collar, pushing her against the wall. Haruka gave him a mocking look of shock. "I see being a Demonic has made you even more cocky than I remembered you to be."

To be honest, Haruka was just glad that it was Seiya. Damien drove her mind insane, thinking about everything that could happen and what consequences could occur from it. Admittedly, if she could have picked anyone else to be stuck with in this position, any one of the other Senshi would have been a better choice than Seiya.

"Why did it have to be you?" Seiya yelled. Haruka blinked and managed to bite back a laugh, not managing to to completely hide a small smile that appeared on her face. Seiya released her and stepped back, confused. "What the hell's that face for, Ten'ou?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking the same thing." Haruka said airily as she shook her head, walking back to the balcony. The two stayed silent until Taiki came in, with Yasel and Damien behind him. The dark, unreadable look on Damien's face did not go unnoticed by Haruka.

"What's going on?" Haruka asked with uncertainty. Taiki wordlessly opened the box, allowing Haruka to see the contents of the box. The moment the blonde's eyes focused on the contents of her box, she stepped back, away from evveryone else.

She could see the triumphant look in Yasel's eyes, the concern in Damien's, and the way Seiya averted his eyes, not willing to look at her. And all that confirmed her suspicions. They all knew this was coming, maybe with the exception of Yasel.

"Haruka, I'm sorry." Damien said, stepping forward. She watched him carefully, noticing his hands twitched, almost as though he wanted to grab her shoulder, but thought better of it. "Lucius doesn't think it's a good idea for you to be walking around with all that power."

"So basically he's afraid of me." Haruka muttered, earning a scowl from Yasel.

"The Demon King has no need to fear you as long as - " Yasel started, but Damien waved him off.

"He's... concerned." Damien said neutrally. "I'm sorry." he said again.

Haruka took a deep breath before closing her eyes. "I don't have much of a choice, do I?" she asked. Damien shook his head.

"Don't worry. It won't make you collapse like the last time." Taiki said as he handed the bracelets to Damien. Seiya and Yasel stood by her side, ready to stop her if she fought back. Damien gently took her left wrist in his hands.

Before Damien could place the bracelets on Haruka's hand, she slammed her foot into Yasel's leg, causing him to bend over, howling in pain. Taking the opportunity she slammed her fist into his jaw and watched him crumble.

Instantly, Seiya grabbed her by the shoulders and pinned her against his own body. But Haruka didn't bother fighting back.

"Oi Ten'ou! What the hell are you trying to do, get your Princess killed?" Seiya hissed into her ear. Haruka turned sideways to look at him, and gave him a sided smile.

"I'll get back at you for just now some other time." Haruka whispered back to him, before she turned her gaze back to Damien, and raised her other wrist for him. Damien smiled. He understood. She wasn't fighting against the decision Lucius made: she just wanted to get back at Yasel while she could.

"Damien, one question. The promise you made me, back then. Did you mean it?" She asked as he clipped the first of two bracelets on her wrists. He looked up at her, surprised by her question.

"Of course. You are one person I'd never lie to. I'll personally make sure nothing happens to your princess or her court." Damien said with a smile. Haruka nodded. Seiya shot a glance at Taiki, who looked away. Damien slipped the second bracelet. Yasel walked over to her, growling. But with Damien around, all he could do was throw menacing glares at her.

"Kou, let go of me." She said, her elbow nudging him in the ribs. Seiya released her, and watched as she sat down on the bed. Taiki, Damien and Yasel took their leave, leaving Seiya with the tall blonde.

"How did you know?" Seiya asked as soon as they were alone.

"Please, Kou. You were never good at hiding your emotions, especially when Odango was concerned. The moment I saw you this morning I knew something was wrong." She said as she crossed her legs on the bed, staring at the balcony.

Seiya nodded silently. "Do you really trust him?"

"More than I ever trusted you." Haruka replied without thinking. Seiya sat back on his usual seat, not able to take his eyes off her.

"Why?" He asked. He watched as Haruka thought about it thoughtfully, as though wondering the same question herself.

"I don't know." She finally said. "I just do."

* * *

That's it for the next chapter! please tell me what you think of this story so far~ :) i know there's been a lack of SeiHaru stuff going on but I had to set the foundation for the story first :) no worries it's still HaruSei, coming up soon! please comment if you like the story, or hate it, or anywhere you think I can improve on :)


	9. Chapter 9

Ok! I'm here with the next instalment. :)

* * *

Haruka lay on the bed, her eyes wide open, as they scanned the ceiling thoughtfully. It had been almost a week since she had last seen Damien, since he had placed the bracelets on her wrists. Since then, they had stepped up her training, from the wee hours of the morning to the late in the afternoon. Not that she was complaining, it gave her a means to let out the edge she'd been feeling since she had arrived.

"Damien's on his way." came an all too familiar voice by the couch on the far end of the room. Haruka's eyes shot open as she turned to the couch.

"Surprised to see me?" the shadow asked again. Haruka jumped out of her bed, and walked to the balcony, completely ignoring him. Yasel was not someone she was happy to see, though seeing Seiya wasn't exactly something she looked forward to either. But at the very least, Seiya kept to himself most of the time, choosing to pretend she didn't exist. Yasel, on the other hand, loved to make his presense known, and spent hours on end trying to rile the blonde.

She had half a mind to ask where Seiya was, but decided she didn't care enough to know the answer anyway, and settled for just sitting by the balcony, staring at the starlit night.

"Aren't you going to ask where Kou is?" came the voice again. A small spark burst in Haruka's stomach, but she managed to control herself. With the bracelets on her wrists, it wasn't wise to start a fight with someone like Yasel. Haruka had always been a impulse-driven woman, but even she knew how to control herself when she knew she was in a losing situation.

"Tsk." Yasel sighed. "You're just as befitting of Damien's blood. Cold, aren't you, Princess?" He continued talking, trying to trick the blonde into reacting to his words. Haruka's fists clenched momentarily, but she managed to keep her cool.

"I suggest you stop talking, because whatever happens next won't benefit you in anyway." Haruka muttered neutrally. Without turning around, she heard soft footsteps heading closer towards her, stopping right behind her. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

She jumped out of her seat as a thick piece of chain crashed down on the chair, causing a loud resonance to echo the room. She shook her head, her feet landing carefully on the ledge of the balcony. _This brings back memories. _She thought to herself, as mental images of her and Neptune, standing on roofs, ledges, trees or even lamposts, watching from above. _Seems Damien was right about at least one thing, the height does comfort me._

She eyed Yasel, who was swinging the chain around his hands, calculating his actions. "One day someone's going to shut that damn mouth of yours." He muttered darkly as he swung the chain at her again, missing her and creating a huge dent in the ledge. Haruka jumped over him, and landed behind him.

"It sure as hell isn't going to be you." Haruka laughed as she easily avoided another swing. She had no intention to fight back: Yasel was clearly stronger than her in this state, but the least she could do was avoid the attacks that he was charging at her with.

Suddenly a blur appeared in between them, standing protectively between the two fighters.

"Oi Yasel. Have you forgotten your orders?" The man stood in front of her, his long black hair tied in a high ponytail as he faced Yasel, brilliant blue eyes glaring at him.

"Superbia-sama." Yasel stammered, backing off immediately. The man turned to Haruka, offering her a hand to shake.

"I've been watching you." He said with a smile. Haruka stared at him, her green eyes suspicious, refusing to reciprocrate the handshake.

"Haruka." came a familiar voice behind her. Haruka turned around to see Damien. He looked furious. His eyes travelled from the leader of his army to the destruction at the balcony, from the dent on the ledge, to the ruined curtains, and a few destroyed potted plants. It didn't take long for him to piece everything together. He focused his gaze on Yasel, who had dropped to his knees at the sight of the Demon Lord. "Are you okay?" He asked Haruka.

"Of course. Nothing I can't handle." Haruka shrugged as she sat back down on the bed.

"Yasel, you're dismissed. Get lost before I change my mind. I'll deal with you later." Damien said tonelessly as Yasel vanished before them. Damien turned his gaze to Haruka and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry, I sent Seiya on an errand for me. I didn't expect him to attack you again after the other day." Damien explained. Haruka merely shook her head, her eyes watching the other man with a clear distaste on her face. At that moment, Seiya appeared.

"Sir, the errand you requested is complete." Seiya announced. Damien nodded. Haruka kept her gaze on the black-haired man that had appeared beforehand.

"Superbia, would you wait outside?" Damien instructed. The man nodded and took his leave, Seiya following behind, and shut the door behind them.

"Haruka, I asked Seiya to check up on your Princess for me. We sent Seiya's brother Yaten to fetch her, but so far they are unable to find her. The Moon Kingdom seems to have completely vanished. I'm heading down there after this with Superbia to check it out personally. Don't worry, I won't break my promise to you. " Damien barely whispered.

"Thank you." She said. As an afterthought, she added, "Why are you doing this?" Damien turned to her, a surprised look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have to do anything for me. You know as well as I do that I won't back out of this. This isn't only because of my Princess's current safety, but her future as well. I won't do anything stupid. You knew this all along, even if Lucius doesn't. So why are you promising to keep my Princess safe for me?"

"Because I know she's important to you." Came Damien's immediate response. "Haruka, Sy is to me what your Princess is to you. I know how it would feel if you were to lose her. There's a part of Sy in you that you'll never understand. I swore once never to betray Sy, not even to Lucius. And I'm going to continue honoring that."

Haruka nodded mutely, not sure exactly what to say.

"I don't care if you don't consider me as a father: I never figured I'd be a good one anyway. But you're all that proves Sy once existed." Damien said as he stood up and exited the room, leaving Haruka even more confused: something that had been happening very often when it came to Damien.

* * *

Seiya entered the room, and shut the door behind him. He noticed that the tall blonde was in a daze, her mind obviously a little confused from the conversation she had had with Damien. A long silence fell upon the two, before Haruka finally broke it.

"Who's Superbia?" she asked him. Haruka had sensed a dark presence about him that she had not felt in anyone besides Lucius. Seiya turned to look at the blonde.

"One of the Chosen 7." He replied. Upon seeing the blonde roll her eyes at him, he sighed, and dragged his chair over, so he was face to face with the blonde.

"The Chosen 7 are the seven that bait humans, testing them, trying to see if they make a mistake. On Earth we called them the Seven Deadly Sins." Seiya said as he raised 7 fingers.

"Luxuria: a beautiful demon, more beautiful than anyone you've ever seen. Some claim that she takes on the image of anyone's ultimate fantasy, be it male or female. No one is sure what she looks like naturally. She challenges humans with lust, seeing if they will succumb to doing unthinkable acts to act on their lust.

Gula: he's a formidable man, tall and muscular. His job is to test humans to see if any of them would commit gluttony, and see if they would willingly withhold it from others who need it more, for their own desires.

Avaritia tempts humans with material possessions. He's amazing, he could paint a picture of your wildest dreams, and give you anything your heart desires, just to see if you're going to be tempted into give up everything for the sake of material goods. Many men, kings, queens, ministers, have fallen to Avaritia.

Acedia is, I guess you can say, the devil on your shoulder. He's the one that says, "just do it tomorrow", "it won't kill to wait another day". He tempts humans into abandoning their jobs and their missions for personal benefits. He discourages humans to see if they would follow him and lead them away from the things they were supposed to be doing.

Twins Ira and Invidia are probably the scariest. I guess everyone of us at some point have been affected by Ira and Invidia. Ira deals with anger: the idea of revenge, violence, self-destruction and any other fury-related action. His brother Invidia, deals with jealousy, tempting people into acting on their jealousy to attain something that is not theirs. In fact, most wars that humans start, happened because Ira and Invidia were involved at some point.

And Superbia, well, Superbia is the most feared of the 7, simply because he can cause a human to fall into the traps of any of the other 6. Superbia handles pride: the desire to be important, to be someone to the point that they belittle everyone else." Seiya explained.

"And what happens to those who fail?" Haruka asked, the words Superbia said to her floating around in her head. _I've been watching you._

"Usually, nothing. Like Damien said, we just believe that humans should be given the chance to make mistakes. I mean, look down on Earth and find me 1 person that doesn't fall in any of those categories. There won't be any such person. That's what makes them humans in the first place. The job of the Chosen 7 is to simply tempt the humans, and to show the Angels up there that humans cannot be simply SHOWN the way. They have to learn for themselves." Seiya stood up, turning around. "You must be Superbia's favourite, with a pride that huge, Ms-Get-Out-Of-Our-Planet-We'll-Protect-It-Ourselves." He added, a smile coming to his face.

"You're not much better off, Mr-I'm-Better-Than-Mamoru." Haruka chided back as she headed to the shower.

* * *

In the shower, Haruka allowed herself a moment to think back to what Damien had said. It was a short conversation, but it was something happy nonetheless. If Yaten could not find her Princess, that had meant one thing: Queen Serenity and the rest of them were under the protection of the Moon Crystal.

Centuries ago, Sailor Mercury had created a shield that could repel any enemy and allow them to be indefinitely hidden, cloaking the entire Moon Kingdom if necessary. Even if Damien knew about the existance of the Moon Shield, as they had called it, he would not be able to find them without one of the Sailor Senshi. And Haruka was confident that no one, not even Sailor Pluto, would disclose the location of the Moon Kingdom.

As cold water ran across her body, she stretched, humming as she did so. This was the best news she had heard in awhile, and it made her feel, for a moment, happy. If she allowed herself to think about it, she couldn't deny that Gremory's thinking was pretty much like her own, even back then she would always wonder if she was making the right decision.

Suddenly, the water pooled around her legs enveloped her ankles, causing her to trip and fall into the tub. Cold water continued to pool in, but the water seemed to have a life of its own, pulling her head under the water. She opened her mouth to yell, but nothing came out except a steady flow of bubbles.

* * *

Seiya sat outside, waiting for the blonde to finish her shower. Today's schedule was the same as every other day: training with Yasel and his army till night. The aim, though the wind senshi wasn't aware of, was to get her to break the limit of the bracelets a second time.

_"If she has to deal with Yasel with those bracelets, shes dead for sure." Seiya had informed Damien a week ago. Damien's answer in reply was something he'd never forget._

_"She's my daughter, Seiya. Don't worry. She'll find a way to break the restraints. We just have to keep pushing her. She needs to be able to increase her power limit before the battle, or she stands no chance against Queen Stella. I have faith in her, and you should too."_

Seiya had not really understood, and in the first few days of training, it seemed that he was right. The first few days Haruka had barely been able to avoid some of the serious attacks, and he had to jump in to intervene before something serious happened to her. Each time, she had glared at him and pushed him away, insisting that she did not need his help. And each time, he had shook his head, thinking to himself how hardheaded this stupid blonde could be.

But after 3-4 days, she was starting to prove him wrong. Although she had, by no means, gained her power or strength back, she was starting to gain her speed back. By the end of the week she had somehow managed to out-maneuver Yasel: something that she had not done in a week, and since then the leader had been in a worse mood, especially with Damien's constant protection over the girl.

Suddenly Seiya jumped out of his chair. He felt a familiar, yet dark presence in the room, and instinctively he ran into the bathroom, to see the blonde struggling in a whirlpool of water in the tub. Grabbing her by the wrists, he yanked her out of the tub, and threw his jacket over her.

She gasped as she coughed up the water blocking her windpipe, her hand clutching tightly to Seiya's shoulder. Her green eyes blazed with fury as she stared back at the now calm pool of water in the tub.

"What the - " Haruka started to say, but in that moment, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she collapsed. Seiya barely managed to grab unto her before her head hit the floor. Lifting the now unconscious blonde off the wet toilet floor, he turned back to look at the water, spitting one last word out of his mouth.

"Yasel."

* * *

"My Lord, I have something urgent to report." Seiya said to the phone.

"What is it?"

"Haruka, my Lord. Someone tried to... I'm not sure if KILL is the right word in this situation, but someone tried to drown her while she was in her shower." Seiya explained the situation he found the blonde in.

"Did you say **DROWN**?" The anger in the Demon Lord's voice was not lost over the phone. "How is she?"

"She's fine, I got her out of the tub in time. She's unconscious, but I've asked Taiki to take a look at her and her vitals seem fine." Seiya replied.

"That's good. Watch her. I'm on my way back. Pull Yaten from his current mission, and get him to watch Yasel's every move. I want to know what that idiotard is thinking." Damien instructed as he hung up the phone. Seiya nodded to no one in particular: so his suspicions weren't far off: the Demon Lord had also suspected it was Yasel. Afterall, he was one of the only few demons that manipulated water.

Seiya sat next to Haruka's bed, watching her carefully. But he could not help but think to himself, an unwilling smile appearing on his face as he did so.

_I'm so dead when she wakes up._

* * *

just a note here, a short disclaimer: Superbia and the reset of the Chosen 7 is not my original idea. They are the latin forms of the Seven Sins. I'm not into religion so I don't know much about them and whether they were people or merely sins, so I'm stating here first: I did not make that up it's a real thing.

And in case anyone thinks this is some sort of anti-christian story, I swear it's not religious related. It's just how the story goes. :) Please comment so I know your thoughts. Make a guess what's happening next is also okay! I love reading guesses :D


	10. Chapter 10

"Fighter, Healer, Maker, are you sure about this?" came a weak voice from the bed. The three knelt by their princess as she struggled to get up. Fighter watched painfully as her weak princess finally abandoned her attempt to sit up, and turned to face them, her head still rested on her pillow, beautiful red hair in a tangled mess behind her. Sweat beaded across her head as garnet eyes stared at her three most faithful warriors.

" - Pledging an allegience to our princess, so that our entirety remain hers and only hers. I swear to do everything in my power to protect her, with the body, heart and strength that has been bestowed to me. - Princess Kakyuu, that was what we swore when we became Starlights." Fighter said, her eyes glazing over with tears as her princess smiled sadly.

"Fighter, that pledge was made as a formality. You know I never meant for anyone of you to literally give your life to me." She spoke, in a voice that threatened to disintegrate.

"Princess Kakyuu, it is essential that you get well. Kinmoku needs you in order for it to continue thriving. Rest assured, my princess, there will be others stronger than us, who will be more than capable of protecting you." Maker now spoke.

"We'll always be watching over you, no matter what happens to us from this moment on. Our bodies remain yours and as long as we are Starlights we will never truly abandon you. My Princess, one day we'll be reunited." Healer barely whispered.

Princess Kakyuu stretched out her hand, and gently rested it on Fighter's shoulder. Fighter looked up, surprised.

"Thank you. I'm sorry it had to be this way." Princess Kakyuu whispered. Fighter smiled at her Princess.

"Good bye, Princess." She whispered, as the three of them retreated, to be enveloped by a black light.

Seiya jerked up from his sleep. He got off the chair he had dozed off on, stretching his limbs as he walked around the room. Ever since he had met Haruka again, he had been having the same dream, over and over again, reliving the moment he and his princess parted ways.

He and his brothers had willingly given their lives to Damien, in exchange for their Princess's life. And Damien had not gone back on his word. In fact, he had treated all three brothers with a kindness that wasn't expected from the Demon Lord.

And from what they managed to gather while watching Kinmoku from afar, Princess Kakyuu was doing well. Both their planet and their Princess were flourishing, and for that, they were glad, that till the very end, they were protecting their Princess, even though they could not see her.

The thought of Damien made Seiya turn to the man who was sitting next to Haruka's bed. The tall blonde had been unconscious for almost two days, and in that time the Demon Lord had not left her side for a single moment. Many a time he had suggested for the Demon Lord to head back to his quarters to get some rest as well, but Damien had merely smiled and waved him away.

"Speak your mind, Seiya." Damien said in a soft voice. Seiya stumbled, surprised.

"It's nothing, my lord." he said automatically.

"It's okay, I know you've had plenty of questions. There are questions I wish to ask you too, so perhaps this would be a good place to start." Damien said kindly as he gestured to a chair next to him. Seiya nodded, and took a seat nervously beside Damien.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the two men, before Seiya finally spoke.

"My lord, please stop me if I'm crossing the line. I'm just curious. Didn't you ever want to find her? You must have known you had a child."

Damien looked at him thoughtfully. "I only saw her once, on the day she was born."

_A sharp cry broke the silence of the night._

_"She's beautiful." The doctor said as he handed a newborn child to Sycorax, who was breathing heavily. Sycorax took the child into her arms and smiled. The newborn baby girl had beautiful small whiffs of sandy blonde hair, and blue-green eyes that mirrored Sycorax's._

_The doctor bowed and left Sycorax alone with her child._

_"She looks just like you."_

_Damien said, stepping out of the shadows. Sycorax looked up, a sad look on her face._

_"You shouldn't be here." She whispered, so that no one else could hear them._

_"I know." He said, sitting down next to her, staring at his newborn child. "But I couldn't miss this. Please, just for tonight?" He pleaded. Sycorax looked at him thoughtfully, and nodded. She handed him the baby girl._

_Damien stared at the bundle of life in his arms. He had never imagined himself a father: he was far too playful to be one. Then something caught his eye, a small star mark on her chest. Sycorax seemed to understand what he was thinking._

_"Our union was never meant to happen. With this child, you'll never know how she's going to turn out. Perhaps the star is a sign that she's meant to become something important." She said with a small smile. Damien laughed._

_"Damien, what are we going to do about her? The rest of the Court are praying that she'll be an Angelic. They don't know you're a pure demon: they will never accept her if they found out who her father was. I can only hide the truth until she turns 25. Whether or not she grows black or white wings, she will have a full set, and by then they will suspect something's wrong."_

_"Sy. We can't tell anyone, at least not until she grows up enough to take care of herself. I promise, I won't come down here again, I won't look for her. She'll never know of my existance." Damien promised. The little bundle of joy squirmed in his arms as he tickled her gently. A small hand reached up towards him, grabbing a lock of his crimson hair in her small fingers, tugging it lightly. Damien laughed._

_"Is this what our future is destined to be?" Sycorax whispered again. "If Queen Stella had never sent Neo-Queen Serenity away, none of this would have happened. We would just be two Angels in Heaven, happily living the rest of our immortality together. But instead, we have to be destined to be apart." She said bitterly._

_Damien smiled, remembering that a few months ago his father had basically said the same thing. "That's what happens when you try to predict everything before it happens. Sy, I wish we could have met under other circumstances, but sadly, this is the reality now."_

_The couple sat together, both painfully aware that this would be the first and last time they were together as a family._

_"Damien, promise me one thing." Sycorax whispered as she fought the sleepiness that threatened to overtake her consciousness._

_"Anything for you."_

_"Look after her, as much as you can. Watch over her from Gremory, make sure no harm gets to her. Protect her with your life. They'll be watching me closely from now on."_

_"Of course." He promised._

"It wasn't safe for me to look for her. If Queen Stella got wind that I was the father, they would no doubt have had her captured, and who knows what they would have done to her. Me staying away gave her the chance to grow up." Damien explained.

"What's going to happen after..." Seiya trailed off. Damien shrugged.

"I'm not sure myself."

"When we first brought her here, you didn't seem very interested in her. But suddenly you began acting completely different around her. Honestly, I was pretty surprised." Seiya admitted.

"Truth be told, I didn't want to get close to her. I knew she was just a pawn in Lucius' giant game of chess. But this was the only way I would even be able to be allowed to see her. Often I wondered if I made the right choice. I know exactly what's going to happen to her after all of this is over."

"Then..."

"Let me ask you a question. Back then, have you ever hoped that I never appeared, that you never had that decision to make?" Damien asked.

"No. The alternative would be the death of our Princess."

"Exactly. I made this choice for her, just like I did for you. I've watched her all these years, I know how she operates. If there was a way to safe her Princess from the future, she would want to know. Just like you did. I promised her mother I would watch over her, and I'm doing that by respecting Haruka's wishes." Damien started off saying. "Well, there is a little selfish reasoning behind that. I just wanted to be around her, at least for awhile."

Silence fell upon them again as Seiya could not help but to smile. This was the first time the Demon Lord and him had held a real conversation together, as equals. And he was beginning to understand how the Demon Lord thought. Damien truly was concerned about Haruka, and he had grown to understand that the blonde in a way that he would have never thought possible in such a short span of time.

"Her character is just like yours. I've been unfortunate enough to be on the wrong end of her wrath. She may be arrogant, cocky, irritating, but there's no denying that she's powerful, strong and independent. And she takes crap from no one."

Damien laughed. "Now let me ask you, what exactly is your relation with her?"

"That's a little hard to explain. We aren't really friends, nor were we comrades. I don't even think we were enemies." Seiya admitted.

"Then let me ask you. Would you save her? If she was in trouble." Damien asked. Seiya thought about it carefully.

"Well, she's never ACTUALLY been in any danger that she couldn't handle. But if she was in danger, of course I would help her."

"Even if you were risking your life?"

"Yeah. No matter how much I hate her, a life is still a life. But this stupid blonde wouldn't allow just ANYONE to save her." Seiya muttered the last part under his breath. Damien couldn't help but to laugh.

"You do realize you did save her, right?" Damien asked. Seiya blinked a couple of times. Damien was right: even if the thought never crossed his mind. When he saw her in trouble, he hadn't even hesitated, he jumped in to save her.

"You two are pretty similar. You both live to protect, and despite the fact that you both seem to have a vengence against each other, you two actually are pretty much identical." Damien said with a smile.

Seiya couldn't help but to laugh. "Other than the fact that we both had princesses to protect, we're not even remotely the same. She's crazy. She - " He started an attempt to explain what exactly went on between the two of them, but as he started to explain, he thought back to the past. All those times, she had warned him to stay away, all those times she had attacked him or argued with him, wasn't it all just because she was protecting her princess?

"She's crazy." He ended his sentence abruptly.

Damien seemed to have noticed Seiya's expression. He smiled. _She must be one hell of a girl, to somehow, inspire respect and impress even her enemies._

"You're dead, Kou." came a voice from the bed. Damien and Seiya both turned to stare at the blonde who had just awoken. Her eyes snapped open as she blinked for a few moments, shaking her head, before finally sitting up, ruffling her short hair as she did so.

I knew it.

Seiya thought to himself. "My orders were to make sure you didn't try to do anything stupid."

"Did it LOOK like I was trying to drown myself?" Haruka asked, throwing a pillow at him. Seiya caught it easily with one hand and flung it to a corner.

"Well, in general my orders were to make sure you stayed, well, alive. If you drowned I would have failed, and then I probably would have suffered a lot more than anything _you_ could possibly come up with." Seiya retorted.

"He's right. If anything happened to you that destroyed the success of the mission, Seiya would have to deal with Lucius personally, and let me tell you that isn't pleasant." Damien spoke. Haruka rolled her eyes. "Not to mention what I'd do to his remains after Lucius was done with him."

Seiya shuddered at the thought.

"Then I should really try it sometime." Haruka said offhandedly, clearly happily thinking about all the trouble she could get Seiya into if something were to really happen to her. Not that she'd actually do anything, afterall her Princess's life was in her hands, and she the last thing she'd want to do was to risk her own life just to get a certain Starlight in trouble.

"So much for - you're immortal you can't die anyway -." She added under her breath.

"Immortality isn't what you think. You wouldn't have actually DROWNED. You would have felt the pain, your body thrashing for air as water crashed into your lungs. Ultimately your body would have collapsed, but your soul would be intact. In time you would have healed, but at your current state, your body is still getting used to your Angel and Demon blood, so it's not advisable. We don't even know if what happens to us will work on you." Damien explained, earning another elaborate eyeroll from Haruka.

"Wait till I get my hands on whoever - " She started, but Damien placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling.

"Don't worry. Let me deal with that." Damien said. He stole a glance at his watch, and stood up. "I've got to go run some errands. I'm glad you've woken up, Haruka." He smiled and took his leave.

* * *

Damien entered the dinner hall, to see the 7 Chosen Ones and his father already seated. As he lowered himself into his usual seat next to his father.

"Damien, you're late."

"Sorry father. I was - "

"I know, you were with her. Damien, you're spending too much time with the girl. You know fully well what's going to happen." Lucius replied, a hand tapping impatiently on the table in front of him.

Waitresses glided forward to serve the 9 their first course. The 9 ate the rest of their entire meal in silence. A sharp _POP_ sounded as a Demonic kneeled before them. A scar cascaded over his eye as another 2 danced across his left cheek. His wings were kept back, exposing bright red marks over his exposed upper forearms.

"King Lucius." said Yasel as he avoided making eye contact with Damien. Damien grinned smugly to himself. It had given him great satisfaction to punish Yasel for what he had done to Haruka, and he had made sure that the Demonic could not hide the scars.

"Ah Yasel, you're here." Lucius said coldly, an eye trailing on the fresh wounds along Yasel's chiselled body. "I called you here to talk to you about _the girl_."

A shiver went down Yasel's spine upon hearing the last two words. Ever since Damien's punishment several hours ago, the last thing he wanted to do was to have anything to do with the blonde devil spawnling.

Damien too, seemed to be watching Lucius with a grim gaze: unsure of what his father was now planning.

"How is her training going along?" Lucius asked.

"She's progressing as planned. Before she was _injured_ she had gained back her agility. We will continue to push her as planned until she can break the bracelets on her own." Yasel said.

"King Lucius, if I may." Superbia injected. Lucius nodded, and gestured for him to continue.

"She seems to have no issue with dealing with Demonics. But I think it's time for her to embrace her true calling as a Demon."

"Bia, I don't think that's a good idea." Luxuria cut in.

"I don't think we have a choice, Lux. She can continue her training, but I think it's time we send her to work. When the time comes, she will have to lead all 7 of us into the Angelic Realm Aviane. I think It's only right that we get to deal with her first, to better understand how she works and operates." Superbia pointed out.

Lucius leant back, his fingers tapping on his skull as he thought. "That may be a good suggestion." He said, his mind already whirring with ideas. Unlike Damien, he did not trust Haruka one bit, and had no intention of letting her control anything, not without him pulling the strings at the back.

* * *

Seiya handed Haruka a glass of water.

"What?" He asked, earning a reproachful look from the tall blonde.

"Tactless as usual, Kou. Do you really think after nearly drowning the first thing I'd wanna do after waking up is to drink a glass of water?" She asked sarcastically.

"You may not want to drink it, but your body needs it. Or would you rather get pummelled by Yasel during training tomorrow? And while we're on the topic of Yasel, he's probably the one that did this to you." Seiya said, placing the glass back on the table.

Seiya watched the blonde closely. She seemed weaker than her usual self, but nothing out of the unusual for what she had already been through.

"Ne, Ten'ou." He finally asked, voicing a thought that had been at the back of his mind since he first saw her. "What do you think about all this?"

Haruka eyed him beadily, unsure if she really wanted to reply. Finally deciding that getting into another argument with him was something she simply did not have the strength or brainpower to do at this point in time, she reached out for the glass and took a small sip.

"I don't really care. Just as long as it keeps Queen Serenity safe." Haruka replied.

"Quit lying." Seiya said, earning a curious glance from the tall blonde. "All that - I don't really care - shit is just, well, bullshit. All this time you've been saying - _I have to protect Queen Serenity_ -. That's just the problem. You HAVE to protect her. But that never suggested that you wanted to."

"So?" was all Haruka could say as she choked back what she really thought. She couldn't believe that this little alien figured it out: something that she had managed to keep hidden from everything, with the obvious exception for Michiru.

Protecting Queen Serenity had always been a job: by far the longest job in history. She loved her Princess, and she always would, but not to the extent of having to put her entire life on hold for her Princess. Everything she did, up to this point, she did because she HAD to, because Haruka Ten'ou simply did not do things half-heartedly.

"So, your Queen isn't here anymore." Seiya pointed out. "Technically, while you're here, you're free."

Haruka thought about that for awhile. He was right. While she was here she was free. There were no rules she had to follow, no one she had to report to, and although she was doing it all to protect her Queen, she couldn't deny that part of her wanted to stay here: it gave her an available excuse to leave the monotonous life she had as a protector and as a Senshi. And if she were truthful to herself, while she despised Yasel and Lucius, she did not harbour the same malicious thoughts for Damien.

"Well?" Seiya pressed, clearly waiting for an answer. Haruka stared at him questioningly. Finally she sighed, deciding there was no harm in telling the truth.

"If you really must know, I feel more like myself here, than I ever did anywhere near the Odango or her Court." Haruka admitted. "Back down there, I had to be everything: protector, warrior, fighter, friend, lover, leader."

"And here?"

"Aside from being babysat by the most annoying alien in the universe?" she chided, throwing him a sideways glance. "Here, I can be just Haruka. No princess to protect, no world to save. Contrary to popular belief, I had a dream, before becoming Sailor Uranus."

Seiya stood up, seating himself instead on her bed, tentatively, wondering if she would murder him for it. She merely glanced at him, before focusing her eyes elsewhere.

"No one ever said - " He started, but she silenced him with a soft glare.

"I know no one ever said I had to give up my dreams. But when you're in my position, you'd understand. A dream, at that time, was a distraction. Maybe others could do it. But not me. It was always all or nothing for me." Haruka said, wondering at the same time as she did, vaguely surprised that she was starting to enjoy talking to Seiya. At some point, it felt, almost, as though out of all the Senshi she had fought alongside (and against), he would understand her most of all. He, amongst all of them, knew that protecting his process came first. No matter what he thought or felt about anything else, he understood that his princess took importance over himself.

"How did you end up here, anyway?" She finally asked. Seiya stood up, allowing himself a quick glance at the blonde (for after all if she saw him staring he would be dead before he could say Demonic), biting back a laugh at the "couldn't care less" expression on her face.

Back in the past, when she had asked him questions, he had always assumed she was chiding him, mocking him, but now, for some reason, he began to understand her. He wasn't sure if it was because he had spent more time with her in the past week than he did in his entire life, or that he was starting to see the blonde for who she truely was, now that she was away from her job. _If she didn't care, she wouldn't bother asking._ He thought to himself.

He stared out into the balcony, knowing fully now why Haruka never looked at him as he spoke. He too, found it uncomfortable that they were actually managing to hold a conversation, that he could not look her in the eyes and talk to her without sounding as though he was mocking her.

"Princess Kakyuu was dying. Taiki, Yaten and I were approached by Damien. He allowed us, in the terms of our agreement, to continue watching over Princess Kakyuu from afar, to serve him and his clan, and the assurance that he would do everything in his power to revitalize her and Kinmoku."

"And you believed him?" Haruka asked. Seiya sensed a small residue of mock in her words.

"Yes. At first, we thought, anything for our Princess. Anything to keep her safe. But now, if you ask me again, there's just something about Damien you cant help but trust." Seiya admitted.

"I'm sure that's the Demon blood talking." Haruka replied. The two stared at each other for a moment, before bursting out laughing.

"You do realize this is the longest conversation we've ever had, don't you?" Seiya asked between breaths. Haruka nodded, gulping down more water to stop her laughter.

"And we're on the same side, no less." She added with a hint of a smirk.

"If anyone else back home knew about this, no one would believe us." Seiya speculated, earning a playful smile from the blonde.

* * *

Hi! Yes I know I've been off for a while, had a severe brain block and had no idea how to continue both fics. But I found this chapter hidden away (apparently i wrote it awhile back), so I thought I'd post it up. :P not sure if i'll continue after this, we'll see how it goes, okay? :)


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